Take the Money and Run
The Bourne Identity (2002): 8 out of 10: A man floats unconscious in the Mediterranean Sea, riddled with bullets and bereft of any memory. Pretty standard Costa Cruise experience. Plucked from the brink of death by a passing fishing trawler, our nameless protagonist awakens with nothing but a safe deposit box number embedded in his hip and a knack for multilingualism. As he pieces together the jagged puzzle of his identity, he discovers a world that seems to know him far better than he knows himself, and that same world isn’t all that thrilled he’s still breathing.
Enter Jason Bourne, or at least that’s the name the bank account says he goes by. Played with stoic intensity by Matt Damon, Bourne is a man shaped by muscle memory and haunted by a blank slate. He’s soon joined by Marie, a wary German gypsy played endearingly by Franka Potente (Run Lola Run). Together, they navigate the scenic byways of Paris and Zurich (cough actually Prague, cough) while evading a bunch of assassins.
As Bourne dodges bullets, bureaucracy, and existential dread, the audience is treated to a briskly paced game of cat-and-mouse, where every alleyway hides a tail and every document leads to more questions than answers. The action is grounded and refreshingly tactile. The Bourne Identity eschews the bombastic tendencies of its genre peers in favor of gritty realism and some deeply satisfying tactical improvisation. You’re not watching a superhero in a tuxedo; you’re watching a man dressed like he fell in a dumpster outside of a Goodwill.
Beneath its kinetic exterior, The Bourne Identity toys with themes of accountability, agency, and the uneasy relationship between memory and morality. Is Bourne a weapon, a victim, or just a really fast learner with a tragic backstory and impeccable aim? The film never answers too quickly, letting the tension simmer while the plot sprints. It’s a taut, intelligent thriller that rebooted the spy genre, swapping out martinis for migraines and leaving us all wondering: if you woke up with amnesia and a passport collection, would you even want to remember?
The Good
The Good: It would be hard to make an awful movie with a cast like this. Chris Cooper and Brian Cox bring weight as the calculating villains, Clive Owen adds a sharp edge as the assassin, and Matt Damon steps in as the stoic hero. The deck is stacked with talent, and The Bourne Identity makes excellent use of it. Matt Damon in particular is a standout, anchoring the film with a restrained but compelling performance.
The film also benefits from its locations. Rather than leaning on postcard clichés such as the Eiffel Tower or the Arc de Triomphe, The Bourne Identity opts for settings that feel like real European streets. Prague doubling for Zurich works beautifully, and it’s the kind of grounded authenticity I’d later see in the Mission: Impossible series.
On the action front, the car chases and fights are staged with a visceral clarity that makes every impact count. Bourne never feels like a superhero, just a professional operating at the top of his game. Aside from one small exception (and even that gets a pass under the rule of cool), the film keeps a level head and maintains its grounded tone throughout.
The Bad
The Bad: There are only a couple of moments that feel over the top, and while they don’t ruin the film, they’re worth calling out. The first is the numbered Swiss bank account. While I’ve never personally gone to Zurich to make a withdrawal from one of my many numbered bank accounts, there seems something about the way it’s presented here that feels more like Hogwarts’ Gringotts than an actual European bank. It’s cinematic, sure, but also a touch too fantastical for the otherwise grounded tone.
The second is the stairwell scene near the end. Bourne rides a heavyset man down five flights, fires off a shot when he reaches three of the five stories, and then bounces up without even a twisted ankle.
To be fair, this was fixed in the sequel addresses as Bourne limps through much of the film. But in The Bourne Identity, the moment stands out as one of the rare times the film bends realism a bit too far. Though admittedly it earns partial forgiveness under the “rule of cool.”
The Ugly
The Ugly: Here’s the part I can’t quite wrap my head around: Bourne wakes up with half a million in cash, a stack of passports, and the world believing he’s dead. At that point, wouldn’t most people at least consider disappearing to a beach in Southeast Asia? A clean slate, endless options, and enough resources to vanish forever. I mean Bangkok, Bali, some quiet island in the Philippines? Instead, he heads straight for an embassy and plunges back into the very system trying to erase him.
It’s not exactly a plot hole, but it’s a head-scratcher. The film never fully sells why he doesn’t simply walk away. Outside of Matt Damon hanging on a tropical beach with tons of cash would presumably be a little less action packed of a film.
In Conclusion
In Conclusion: The Bourne Identity remains one of the most effective reimagines of the spy thriller formula. A large part of its success lies in its cast: Matt Damon brings a quiet intensity that grounds the role, while veterans like Chris Cooper, Brian Cox, and Clive Owen add depth and menace around him. The film’s use of authentic European settings and practical, visceral action gives it a lived-in realism that sets it apart from the postcard spectacle of other franchises.
While The Bourne Identity isn’t flawless, the issues are minor distractions rather than deal-breakers. Even the larger question of why he doesn’t simply disappear with his pile of cash and passports feels less like a flaw and more like well, it is based on Ludlum’s The Bourne Identity not Theroux’s The Happy Isles of Oceania.
Taken as a whole, the film’s discipline easily outweighs its minor indulgences. It redefined the spy thriller by rejecting excess and focusing on tension, character, and precision. Two decades later, it still feels sharp, purposeful, and refreshingly lean. The Bourne Identity is a film that understood less could be more, and in doing so, delivered one of the best entries in modern action cinema.
