Jason Bourne, first major action film hero of 21st Century, was actually protagonist of the very 20th Century spy novel by Robert Ludlum. Its 2002 adaptation kept the basic plot concept about elite CIA assassin discovering his past after suffering amnesia; yet the script was in many ways retooled not only for modern post-Cold War world, but also for the explicitly leftist views of the director and producer Doug Liman. Bourne, played by Matt Damon, fights not against terrrorists but his former CIA superiors, involved in the nastiest and the most criminal of Deep State activities. Ludlum's plot is not only changed, but very simplified, with plenty of predictable developments and usual Hollywood censorship in depictin of violence. Although Liman tries and sometimes succeeds in putting some European locations and larger budget to good use, film version of The Bourne Identity is disappointment to those who had read and enjoyed the original novel. Some of talents are tragically underused, especially Julia Stiles in a role that would be better played by a piece of furniture.
RATING: 4/10