The Bourne Identity
Director: Doug Liman
Writer: Tony Gilroy, W. Blake Herron
Based on: Robert Ludlum‘s novel
Cast: Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Chris Cooper, Brian Cox, Julia Stiles, Clive Owen

Plot:
A man (Matt Damon) is found floating in the middle of the sea with several shot wounds. The doctor on board puts him back together again, but the guy suffers from amnesia. The only clue he has is a number to a Swiss bank account. When he follows that clue, he finds out that his name is Jason Bourne. And he finds himself hunted by several agencies. Finding an ally in Marie (Franka Potente) who gives him a ride, Bourne tries to piece back together his past.

The Bourne Identity is one of our modern classics, and with good reason. It’s tightly paced, very well acted and tells a good story that keeps you interested even after multiple viewings.

The Bourne Identity is one of those films that will hook you everytime when you’re zapping through the channels and stumble on it. That way, I’ve probably seen it 3 or 4 times already, even though I’m not much of a spy-fi fan.

But the film is just that engaging. For one, the pacing is just absolutely excellent. It just hits all the right notes at exactly the right moments, transitioning easily between the action-packed scenes and the calmer existentialist crises ones.

But most importantly, the cast and characters are pitch-perfect. Matt Damon is wonderful, just the right mixture of ruthlessness and naivité, being creepy and just being lost. Franka Potente is awesome, too. And they really manage to make Bourne’s relationship with Marie work. This could have easily gone so wrong – Stockholm Syndrome lying just around the corner – but they steer clear of those pitfalls.

The supporting cast is made of awesome, too. Julia Stiles, Chris Cooper, Clive Owen and of course, Brian Cox. And to top it all off, they even have a sense of humor.

Summarising: Pretty much the perfect entertainment.