Doug Liman is somewhat of a Macgyver of the film world — able to create something out of nothing with his skill and knowledge of directing. He made an indie-smash hit and big names out of no-names Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau with the low-budget “Swingers” in 1996. A few years later, he turned a simple storyline and a cast devoid of stars into the entertaining, plot-bending fun-ride “Go.” His latest, “The Bourne Identity,” again finds our hero in tricky spot. Working under a script that has undergone a historic amount of rewrites, the pressure of transforming one of the best selling spy novels into film gold, and studio demands and conflict, Liman was able to tap into his MacGyver-esque skills, tweak a few things here, add some character development there, and create a minor explosion in the summer box office.
Of course, he wasn’t exactly working with rusty nails and baby powder. With the equivalent of a cinematic candy store — a monster budget, picturesque locals, and a handsome household name as lead — Liman utilizes, but doesn’t abuse these devices to tell the story of a man (Matt Damon, “Ocean’s 11”) who is really just asking the question that haunts all of us, “Who am I?”
Unfortunately, this guy is in need of more than just a few hours of meditation. Found floating in European waters, the man cannot remember who he is, what he does, nor how he got the two bullet holes in his back. However, he does remember how to kick ass. Equipped with martial arts and killing skills, proficiency in several languages, an acute sense of his surroundings, and one-glorious, fine-tuned bod, he comes to learn he is Jason Bourne and is doubtful he used these skills for team good.
The film does a nice job of playing up the fact that both audience and Bourne learn things about him at the same time, and it’s an interesting plot device. However, this creates a problem in that it leaves us a little unsure of who to care about. If in fact he is an evil, killing machine, even with those baby blues, it’s still difficult to side with him. Fortunately, just as the smoke clears on the fast-paced beginning two-thirds of the film and we’re realizing this, Bourne goes through a lack of identity, then identity crisis and wants to change his ways.
And it’s this character drive that makes “Bourne” a slight cut-above the rest. Car chases and explosions take a back seat to solving the mystery of Bourne’s identity. And Damon should be credited for carrying this as far as he can. His pythonic biceps and soft-spoken delivery, yet skilled and meticulous spy-nature are reminiscent of Tom Cruise in “Mission Impossible.” Not a powerhouse performance, but he gets the job done and does it well.
Both Damon and Liman have graduated to action-film status with “The Bourne Identity,” a film that, like pseudo-action flicks before it like “The Saint,” serves a purpose in the entertainment sphere. Both men began in independent film and have now proved they can successfully swing both ways when it comes to budgets and action sequences, giving them extra depth in their own film identity.
GRADE: B
