Customer Reviews

The Bourne Identity (Widescreen Extended Edition) (2002)

5 star:		(97)
4 star:		(95)
3 star:		(57)
2 star:		(23)
1 star:		(35)

 

 

Wonderful HD DVD movie. The Picture in Picture extra is just amazing. Action is the middle name for this movie, and the actors do a fantastic job. 5 stars all the way. The DVD version was great, this HD DVD version is amazing.

Robert Ludlum wrote "The Bourne Identity" in the 1980's and it is the quintessential "spy" story. It is a thriller and the characters are so rich and well drawn.

A man is dragged from the sea. He has two bullet wounds and a "chip" embedded into his body. These are removed; the man recovers from this ordeal. He does not, however, remember anything, His name, where he is from from and his entire identity has been lost. He takes the chip and goes in search of himself. In a bank in Zurich he finds his identity- Jason Bourne and several other passports and lots of money. Enough information for Jason Bourne to change his identity whenever he needs to. But what does this mean? It appears to mean that many people are after Jason Bourne, that he has information that many people want or they want this information to die!! Around every corner is danger and there is no one that he can trust. He meets up with two CIA analysts who appear to be trustworthy, but are they really? He travels all over Europe and changes identities at every turn. He meets very interesting people at every turn. His life is full of risk and danger. Jason Bourne is an important person with so much hidden information that he doesn't remember. But as time goes on, the people he meets share some of what he is missing, and he is beginning to put the pieces together. He begins a love affair, and he thinks this is what he has been looking for. Why can't he be happy as a single man leaving the "spy" profession and finding his true love?

The movie stars Matt Damon as Jason Bourne, and he does a credible job. The action filming is wonderfully done. The car chases and the flights on foot and in trains are very real and I felt I was amongst them. I was part of the action!! Franke Potente plays Jason Bourne's love interest. Chris Cooper is the enemy and as always is a star- a cruel man who completes his job. The scenery is fantastic and brilliant. What I did miss in this movie that was not transposed from the book, is the storyline of Carlos, The Jackal. This is an important part of the book, and is not in the movie at all. Jason Bourne and Carlos have much admiratiion for each other even though they are sworn enemies. This is a significant loss, and the movie does not have the drama, background and richness of the book. This is, however, a movie to be enjoyed- I understand the sequel, "The Bourne Supremacy" is out this week. A Must See. prisrob

First off, when I first heard that they were making a movie version of Robert Ludlum's novel, I had mixed feelings. I had read and thoroughly enjoyed the book many years ago and knew that it had been adapted into a TV movie back in 1988, with Richard Chamberlain and Jaclyn Smith, although I have to confess that I never did get around to seeing it for fairly obvious reasons.

So why the mixed feelings? Partly because, for a variety of reasons, movies rarely if ever live up to the novels on which they are based. Maybe this is because we have our own rigidly set perceptions of what the characters look like or because we are already familiar with the plot. Sometimes studios rewrite the plots of our favourite novels and the movie adaptation ends up being so dissimilar to the book that everything that was good about it has either been lost in the editing, or changed to the story's detriment.

In the case of The Bourne Identity, the novel is a pretty substantial affair, full of plots and sub-plots, which would be pretty hard to cram into a mere 2 hours, without making significant changes. The Bourne Identity's script was reportedly written and re-written countless times. It took two years to shoot and, during this time, Matt Damon completed two other movies (Ocean's Eleven and Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron). With this kind of background it is almost a wonder that this film was ever completed and as a result pre-release expectations were none too high. However, against all odds, Doug Liman (Go, Swingers) has produced a slick and competent thriller.

Matt Damon stars as Jason Bourne, an amnesiac found drifting in the Mediterranean sea after being pumped full of lead and left for dead. After being rescued by a fishing boat and nursed back from to health our hero sets off from Marseille with the intention of trying to rekindle his lost memories. Along the way, much to his bemusement, he not only finds himself pursued by shadowy would-be assassins, he discovers that he has skills and instincts that suggest that he himself may also be a ruthless trained killer.

So cue some great action sequences; several impressive fight scenes and an excellent car chase through Paris and enough of the original novel's twists and turns to keep the audience interested. Plus, throw in Franka Potente as an interesting female lead and unwilling companion, Clive Owen and Brian Cox in good supporting performances and two hours slip seamlessly by. However, although detractors will point out that The Bourne Identity is probably not the most memorable movie you will ever see (true), it is also fair to say that this is good old fashioned Saturday night at the movies entertainment and definitely worth a watch if you are looking for something undemanding. Matt Damon, excellent in The Talented Mr Ripley and Good Will Hunting as a credible action hero? Now there's a pleasant surprise and with several sequels penned by the late author Robert Ludlum, we may not have yet seen the last of Mr Bourne.

Other than a few bits and pieces, this movie strays badly from Ludlum's artistry. However, if you've never read the Bourne series, or if you're willing to forget the books, then this is a great little movie. Matt Damon does a fantastic job playing the part of the amnesia suffering hero, Jason Bourne, who at every turn finds out things about himself that leaves him increasingly aghast - like the book, the movie makes a hero out a character that would be a murderous thug in any other setting.

Franka Potente plays the part of the mystified free-spirit who befriends Bourne (enticed initially by some cold-hard-cash), and eventually becomes an enthusiastic confederate. I suppose it is too much to expect a movie to capture all the intrigue, maneuverings, clandestine subterfuges and treacheries that Ludlum wrote into the books - and it is probably proper that the movie really doesn't try. It never could capture 10% of the first book in the length of the video - let alone the whole series -- but still this well worth seeing. I do miss Ludlum's Jackal, but there's still lots of action, good technicals and not too much gratuitous vulgarisms, as well as superb acting. Good high-drama flick!

I had serious doubts before seeing this movie. I just didn't think Matt Damon could pull off a good action hero role.

BOY WAS I WRONG.

Damon's performance is one of the best "action hero" roles since Bruce Willis in Die Hard. The plot is nothing new, probably because it's been copied from the original Bourne books so many times before that it's already predictable once it gets to the big screen. It's forgivable though, as the action sequences are tight and frantic, with decent enough acting and dialogue in between to make it more than "just" an action movie.

The Bourne Identity is the first in this riveting series and it is full of exciting action packed adventure. It is definately worth buying and the cast is really good. You'll be at the edge of your seat the entire movie.

wow.this movie is something else.it has to be seen too be believed,and i mean that in a good way.Matt Damon plays the title character,Jason Bourne.Damon is convincing as a serious action hero.he has charisma to spare,and i really liked his characterization of Bourne.Franka Potente also plays a big role in the movie,and is great as well.the rest of the supporting performances are also very good.i won't go into the plot,because i don't want to spoil it for those who haven't seen.but i can tell what to expect.the biggest thing is the action sequences,which are amazing.the fight scenes are spectacular.there's lots of intrigue,suspense and tension.the dramatic scenes are also very compelling.i think the movie is taut,well written and intelligent.this one should keep your attention for the 119 minute running time.for me,The Bourne Identity is a 4.25/5

As far as a shoot-um-up with the obligatory car chase goes, this movie did it quite well. And like many of the other "1984" machine churned out films for the proletariat, the title and a few names bear the only resemblance to the Ludlum story. Quite a few of the characters that give this story depth and mystery are left out of the movie completely.

Now let's not compare this quickie in shoot-up land with the well thought out book "The Bourne Identity" by Robert Ludlum or the much better portrait of the story in the Mini-Series "The Bourne Identity" (1988) starring Richard Chamberlain and Jaclyn Smith; then we can enjoy what is left.

A sailor on a fishing trawler spots a human body in the water. After retrieving it we find it is alive. Helping this stranger back from the near dead we find a couple of bullet holes and a mysterious capsule under his skin. The capsule displays what the fisherman recognizes immediately as a Swiss bank account. The man can not remember who he is. Now we follow along with his journey to Switzerland and find out if he will recover. In the mean time someone is out to kill him. Why?

The extended vesion is really not very extended, but there is an interesting new intro/ending which takes the story in a bit of a different direction. Something to think about.
The movie itself is really excellent. Any way you look at it. Jason Bourne is a great action hero. For fans of the book, he is not the Jason Bourne we were expecting, but he offers something new and compelling.

I have been a fan of this movie since it first came out, so when they annouced a new EXPLOSIVE EXTENDED EDITION, I got real excited and couldn't wait to own it, now I do, and guess what? Really, really desapointed in this dvd.

The movie is still great of course, but the EXTENDED version is nothing to brag about... first of all, the actual deleted scenes which you can access on the special features menu of the original dvd and this version dvd, are not included in the EXTENDED VERSION... and the only 2 clips that are added, are a new begining and alternate ending. These last two new clips need to be accesed by pressing an icon which appears while the movie is playing, and the switch is cheaply done; lacking the original movies quality...

It would have been nice if the Extended version would have been made up without the PRESS THE ICON feature, and WHAT do they mean by EXPLOSIVE???? The only excitement and action is in the original movie.... nothing else.

This is a real rip off in my opinion. If you own the old version; stick with it... this new version is REALLY NOT WORTH IT!!!!