The Bourne Identity [Blu-ray]

These are great movies. I have watched all of them and used to have them on Bluray too.

Great movie

Took me about 3 times to finally read this book as I am dyslexic and it's a long LONG book

Enjoyed this movie. Loved the action and the actors were excellent. This is the first movie to the movie series and it was well worth the watch.

I'll be honest, I haven't read the Robert Ludlum novel, nor do I remember seeing the original film staring Richard Chamberlain and Jaclyn Smith. So I'm not able to point out differences or inconsistencies, if indeed there are any. Having said that, I can't imagine its predecessors topping Doug Liman's version of "The Bourne Identity." This is the sort of film I like to watch pretty often and each time I find something new to enjoy.The plot, while nothing very original, provides a useful framework around which we get to enjoy some of the most believable action sequences I've seen. Let's face it, an assassin suffering from amnesia is not going to lead a dull life, particularly not after his "friends" decide he's gone rogue. There's only so many ways you can film stunts and action sequences like a car chase but Liman has managed to somehow make the many action scenes seem fresh. I particularly liked seeing what looked like a mini-minor out driving the police using skill and good planing, rather than a high-powered engine or death-defying jumps.Most of the movie follows Jason Bourne, (Matt Damon), as he tries to reclaim his life and survive to see each new day. In this way, the audience is allowed to discover the pieces of the puzzle along with him. On the way he forms an unequal partnership with Marie Kreutz, (Franka Potente). It is good to see a female lead portrayed without either weakness or an unrealistic macho streak. Hopefully, this film will launch Franka's Hollywood career because she has more than earned her stripes in German cinema.Jason and Marie inevitably bond but despite not taking a major part of the narrative, I felt their stop-start romance suited the film. Perhaps a woman with no home makes a good match for a man with no past. I also liked the several times the couple tried to split up, to get Marie out of Bourne's troubles but I especially liked the realism when they finally managed to part. The plot really doesn't need her but it seems Liman used Marie as a means of reminding Bourne that there is more to life than survival.To some it would be nice to wake up one day and discover you were a sort of superman; able to speak half a dozen languages, had tens of thousands in a Swiss bank account and could out-fight Bruce Lee. His boss said it best when he described Jason as a $30,000,000 weapon. But more than advanced skills, Jason was gifted with intelligence and the experience of years of spy craft, even if he couldn't remember it. The thoughtful approach taken to achieve each objective, even on the spur of the moment, made the film almost educational. Hey, read a map before running from the police, use distraction and decoys to sidetrack you opponent, use the resources around you and think laterally. It's all good stuff for budding spies.While Matt Damon played the part with little emotion, deliberately I assume, some of the smaller roles were outstanding. Each seemed to wring so much depth from so few minutes of screen time that I felt like watching a spin-off movie for each of them. Probably the most affecting was the performance of Clive Owen, a fellow assassin who dies describing his constant headaches and bitter loneliness. Also of note is Julia Stiles, the overworked safe-house administrator; she exudes competence while com­plaining of limited resources. All of these perform­ance gems must be a credit to Liman's direction.It would be easy to dismiss "The Bourne Identity" as just another action flick. The action was great, but the true heart of the film was Jason's odyssey to reclaim his soul from the depths of a CIA black-ops hell. He used to be an amoral machine, doing his job without questioning the rightness of his work, just like the rest of them. But amnesia gave him the chance to step back from the abyss and evaluate his fate, eventually choosing to tear a new path into the future. The moral? Perhaps it's that "freedom" is more important than "patriotism."

Not my kind of movie

This one is my favorite one out of the series and another one of my favorites of all time. He remembers nothing. Just walking around kicking everyone's butte and disappearing without a trace love it.

This is a terrifc movie for a weekend and while much fuss was made over particular omissions from Ludlum's great spy novel, the overall feel of the world he created remains. If every element from Ludlum's novel were left in this would be a five hour movie. The book was that complex and jam-packed.Director Doug Liman has retained the basic feel of the book and left the heart of the story in tact. He didn't try to glamourize the grittier aspects simply because he had a big budget with which to work. There is almost a low-key atmosphere which somehow makes all the action seem more real to the viewer. We see Paris and all the other countries only as background to the dark storyline we hope can have some kind of happy resolution as the film goes along.Franke Potente is perfect as a girl who has no real roots herself, and what begins as a business proposition escalates into love, even if it must be a life on the run with Jason Bourne (Matt Damon). Damon proves he can really act in this film and does a great job as Bourne, a guy who has no idea who he is but has all the instincts of someone not quite part of everyday society.A Swiss bank account and a dozen passports, along with a large sum of cash and a weapon, tells him something about what kind of life he has led, if not who he is exactly. He ponders the mystery in a Paris cafe with Marie (Potente) while instinctively making note of all the liscence plates of the vehicles parked outside. Why he does so, he doesn't know.The romance that blossoms between Bourne and Marie becomes one more reason Bourne must find the answers to his identity as international assasins come after them at every turn. There is a moment in the film when he tries to make her leave him for safety because he loves her, and it is for that same reason she stays.This is a gritty movie with a heart. The action sequences as Bourne's instincts kick in are terrific and the human elements are not lost along the way, which is a credit to Director Liman and the two stars, especially Damon, who separtated himself from a big pack and proved he had talent here.We are left with a good feeling at the end of this film as both the action and romance are given their moments. I read this many years ago so perhaps the fact it was not fresh in my mind helped me enjoy it more. Taken simply as a really enjoyable film for a weekend, it's A+ entertainment.

2 reasons for me buying 4k. One is the HDR, the other the increased resolution. The HDR seems very flat in this movie. That might be because the colouring style doesn't really lend itself well to HDR enhancement, with generally drab colours and a lack of reflective surfaces used throughout the movie. There was one scene at the beginning where they are on the fishing boat in the rain and the macs of the fishermen really pop under the boat lighting and you know that this scene is significantly enhanced by HDR, but in generally I found the HDR enhancement very flat and not really adding much to the experience. 4K over HD adds little in the way of viewing experience because the HDR upscale to 4K on my UHD TV is already pretty good. Maybe if you have a really big TV (65" plus) it may start to add some benefit.So overall, I would rate the 4K of this movie as disappointing, and not really worth any extra money over HD. I think that the 4K does have different sound formats available to the HD, so this may be something worth looking at.

I bought this for my dad as a Christmas gift as he'd just got a new home cinema system & was super excited about the ultra HD. He'd said he'd heard that whilst the 4k disks are expensive just get your very favourite in 4k as the player he has will upscale Bluray to pretty much 4k quality. I got him Bourne as he loves it. I didn't take into account the stylisation of the cinematography meant that it really did not wow with the ultra HD.Obviously he still loved the movie but compared to something like Avatar which was clearly made to be watched like this, there really was very little benefit in upgrading to 4k with this particular movie

I do not recommend this movie to anyone who does not enjoy watching gore, violent scenes. I had expected it to be more like a thriller, with interesting plot and excitement, but it is much more violent than that. It is just killing after killing, people are killed like mice, I felt very sick after watching this, it took days to recever. Thus keep that in mind.

Fished from the sea with two bullets in his back and suffering amnesia, Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) is lucky to e alive. However he doesn't know who he is or how he could have possibly come to be on a fishing trawler in the middle of the ocean, he must find out.Bit by bit small pieces of his past begin to emerge, he has skills and abilities that sometimes reveal themselves in a reflex (eg, when he is attacked) but he does not know why this is. After tracing a bank account, which was hidden in a small device beneath his skin, he finds that he is Jason Bourne residing in Paris, France and for some reason is the holder of various passports and identities.Meanwhile the CIA in Langley are aware that Bourne is on the lose, and are anxious to tie up all lose ends by whatever means necessary. Every moment longer he lives he jeopardises the very program he was trained to serve.Jason is not alone in his quest and is aided by an unsuspecting, cute, German national with visa problems who gets swept along after agreeing to take Jason from Zurich to Paris for $20,000.Jason must get to the bottom of his identity, his life depends on it, but it wont be easy, he has a few clues, but everywhere he turns people are after him, and he doesn't know why. He has many questions and must face a formidable enemy who is determined to silence him.I loved this film, right from the very start the story began to unfold and gathered pace as the film went on. I thought the characters were great and the story compelling and gripping. Time flies with this movie as u follow it like a roller coaster twisting and turning all the way to the end. There are some amazing action scenes and a solid plot to this movie, and I feel it's well worth seeing. I'm definitely a big fan

An excellent thriller which is significantly different (and better) than others of its genre. One is in for an action packed film where for once most fight scenes tend to be kept short (some under 2 seconds long). Another pleasing aspect is Bourne's lack of interest in firearms.There is the statutory car chase, but rather than switching off till it was finished as normal, I found it exciting - perhaps in part because it mirrors the David and Goliath theme of the picture.Add to this a clever plot, an excellent performance from Matt Damon and an inspired choice in the German actress Franca Potente and you have something well worth watching.