Grade:  C+

Director:  Doug Liman		Released:  June 2002
Writer:  Tony Gilroy		MPAA Rating:  PG-13
Players:  Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Chris Cooper, Clive Owen		Running time:  119 minutes

Ratings System

"Formulaic" can be defined as "An utterance of conventional notions or beliefs; a hackneyed expression."  That's pretty much what The Bourne Identity is.  I was hoping for something better from Liman, I liked his other movies for their originality but there is little original about this.

And I'm not joking anymore, somebody needs to tell Matt Damon and Ben Affleck that they are not action stars.  They are taking the Nic Cage road to success when they should be taking the Tom Hanks road.  They both are fine actors, they're just not suited to spitting out lines like "If we stay here, we die."  That quality of dialog is one of the problems with this movie.  There are a few neat things to see (one particular staircase descent comes to mind), but mostly it's just a recycled hide-and-chase movie.

One of my new favorite actors plays a spy, Clive Owen.  I've said this before, and I'll keep saying it until it happens.  I'm expecting Owen to have a breakout movie any day now.  In fact, I wish he had played the lead in The Bourne Identity instead of Damon.

The Bourne Identity has its moments, and a couple memorable scenes.  Ultimately, it does not advance its genre, it is just another standard entry.

- crocoPuffs