The Bourne Identity

The Borne Identity, released in the year 2002, is a charming follow up-thriller flick. The ikon borrows p push-down stack elements, functions and the title from a popular spy novel written by Robert Ludlum during the Cold War era. The cinema is about a CIA operative who loses his memory and sets outs on a quest to rectify his identity. He in any case faces the twin challenge of surviving his own doubts about his ancient and escaping from bravos hired by his own agency to hunt him down. The plotline is quite strong, if non unique, and has enough juice to confine the viewer interested till the precise end.The movie offers a healthy dose of fight and chase sequences to the keep viewer engrossed amidst thrilling caliber development, brisk pacing and square(p) acting. word-painting Synopsis This Universal Pictures production was directed by Doug Liman, turn Matt Damon stars as Jason landmark in the lead role. The main compositors case Bourne is found shooting and half -dead in a beach and save by fishermen. He has no memory of his quondam(prenominal), as he suffers from arrant(a) amnesia. The only clue that he bring ons immediately is the account number and name of a Swiss bank, beaming out of a miniaturized laser arrow from his hip (Younkin 2).He desperately feels the urge to figure out his past and reclaim his identity. He begins a quest for reviving his identity by for the first time going to Switzerland to feeling for answers and then follows the path l maintenance by fresh uncovered clues. In Switzerland, Bourne finds a gun and a lot of multiple currency m bingley in his bank safety deposit. He to a fault finds it bizarre that he possesses multiple fake passports under his name. Bourne is also surprised to learn about his exceedingly good martial art skills when confronted with a situation to fight for his life. When he tries to seek the aid of the US Embassy, more trouble awaits him.These revelations fare him uncomfortable as it brings upon the hesitancy that he might pass on a dark past. At one point, he realizes that he has to wither accept the possibility of him being a bad individual or wander confused about his in effect(p)ful(a) identity for the rest of his life. Matt Damon effectively conveys feelings of paranoia when his calibre Bourne is overwhelmed by this internal conflict. At this juncture, Bourne meets a woman named Marie played by Franka Potente. She is in a crunch need for money and he demand immediate transportation to flee by to this next destination France.Hence, they some(prenominal) agree to help out each other, as Marie strikes a cope with Bourne to transport him to Paris in exchange for $20,000 in cash. And, at long last Potentes character turns out to be the heros make out interest. In Paris, Bourne escapes all the assassination attempts planned against him by the CIA. Meanwhile, Marie goes flees away to safety on Bournes insistence. When Bourne visits the Treadstone Head Q uarters, he gets back his memory about him being a CIA spy and assassin. He destroys the Treadstone operation and reunites with Marie in a remote Greek island. CharactersClive Owen plays the role of an assassin sent by the CIA to kill Bourne since he failed in his missionary turn of killing an African leader who threatens to expose the CIA secrets. Owens character, the professor, is a polished, cold, oceanic abyss coat assassin who is in ruthless pursuit of Bourne. Owen nails the part to the tee with his emotionless expressions. Chris Cooper plays the role of the shady CIA officer Conklin who plans out summit secret operations and makes ethically objectionable decisions behind closed doors. His character is also quite animated and annoyingly funny at times.Julia Stiles gives a decent performance with her robotic expressions, playing a minor part of an psychoanalyst named Nicolette. Critique Movie critic Craig Younkin calls Bourne Identity a fool about a character trying to rebu ild and emphasizes the importance of regular(a) character building in this movie (Younkin 1). Mike Clark of USA at once feels that Damons limning of Bourne is much more convincing than Richard Chamberlains performance in the 1988 TV version of the same movie(2). He also suggests that Demons being younger and his charming looks did not disapprove the credibility of the character.BBCs Neil Smith also speaks highly of Damons portrayal of Bourne and compares his character to the likes of classic spies like Harry Palmer and George Smiley (2). However, he raspingly criticizes the movie for not completely harnessing the acting prowess of Potente who showed great authority in the popular movie Run Lola Run. However, Charles Taylor of Salon. com considers Potente as the movies biggest humanity factor (5). He perceives Potentes character Marie as humane since she watches frozen and scared when Bourne is busy fighting with assassins, thereby providing tenderness in the midst of violence (Taylor 4).Rob Gonsalves of eFilm Critic points out that Matt Damons infixed appearance characterized by a mixture of hard and soft features makes him look some(prenominal) defined and blank (2). He perceives Bournes character as someone whose mind forgot who he is but his body mobilises real head (2). Gonsalves feels this Damons attributes and acting work well for Bournes character that has no memory of his personal life, but still is honest in certain survival skills such as speaking contrastive languages and martial arts.He also compares this movie to the critically acclaimed thriller Memento, since the lead characters in both films suffer from the same condition while striving hard to uncover their identity and past. Margaret McGurk of the Cincinnati Enquirer is all praise for the director Liman, as she suggests that the movies urgent pace helps play down some of the unwieldy plot holes (8). She feels that that plot in most movies in this genre do tend to be lacking at t imes, since the primary focus is on the main character and only little time is left for explaining plotlines in detail.McGurk also appreciates the director for smartly muting the background score at the right time. Liman also receives praise from Top critic Colin Covert of the leading Tribune for his true-to-life(prenominal) bearing and paying precise attention to detail, especially in the car chase scene staged in Paris (6). Movie critic Jeremy Heilman of MovieMartyr. com points that the films weakness lies in the lack of a strong villain character and the absence of a concrete former behind CIAs desire to get rid of Bourne (3). He also feels that the films seems incomplete as a number of plot threads remain untied (Heilman 3).The movies main character is well developed and the storyline of the movie left enough room to make decent sequels, in the form of The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum. edit Technique The classical Hollywood editing approach is geared to toward achieving doggedness by adopting editing techniques such as matching shots, cutting for reception and cutting on perform. However, the editors of the movie break out from convention, by capturing action on the fly and cutting for movement. This enables the audience to view action sequences precisely from Bournes shoes.The end results of this technique can be quite confusing and unsettling to the viewer, since there is always an element of uncertainty. Unlike usual action flicks, this movies editing does not ignore the consequences of the main characters actions on other characters, thereby adding a touch of realism. In a way, this movie is not only entertaining but also makes the audience relate to the consequence of violence. Lighting and Cinematography The lighting and colors are quite dark to be reflective of the nature of the theatre being handled in the movie.The movie follows quite a contemporary style of storytelling in this genre. The opening scene of the movie starts w ith a unique shot where we see Bournes body from underneath, through the water. The movies action sequences were shot and edited in way to provide a sense of realism, usually experienced in documentaries. The film is visually harmonic as it showcases scenic locations in Zurich, Prague and Paris. The final scene set in the Greek island of Mykonos is testament to the movies refined visual treatment. ConclusionOne has to remember that this movie came out in 2002, just a few months by and by the tragic events of 9/11 when the CIAs operational methods came under the microscope. Hence, it is born(p) for the audience to expect an element of relevance to real-world events. Applying political connotations to this movie would have only worsened the socio-political climate. According to A. O. Scott of the New York Times, this movie is just a work of fiction and has nothing to do with current or past world happenings, thereby providing something of a relief (6).He further says Ludlums work i s purely a fictional thriller, and does not intend on stimulant ethical dilemmas or posing questions over troubling geopolitical issues (Scott 6). Although the movie is not a typical action flick filled to the brim with action sequences and special effects, it does succeed in providing heart-pounding action to the viewer. Works Cited rogue Covert, Colin. 24 manifest 2007. Bourne Identity is a scorching thriller. Star Tribune. (June 13 2002). 24 marchland 2007. <http//www. startribune. com/entertainment/movies/11521476. hypertext markup language> Clark, Mike. Bourne plays old-school spy game.USA Today. (14 June 2002). 24 March 2007. <http//www. usatoday. com/life/movies/2002/2002-06-14-bourne-identity- look backward. htm> Gonsalves, Rob. The Bourne Identity. eFilmCritic. 24 March 2007. <http//efilmcritic. com/review. php? movie=4637&reviewer=416> Heilman, Jeremy. The Bourne Identity (Doug Liman) 2002. 24 March 2007. <http//www. moviemartyr. com/2002/bourneidentity . htm> McGurk, Margaret. Bourne to Thrill. Cincinnati Enquirer. (14 June 2002). 24 March 2007. <http//www. cincinnati. com/freetime/movies/mcgurk/061402_bourneindentity. html> Scott, A. , O. He Knows a Lot, Just Not His Name.New York Times. (14 June 2002). 24 March 2007. <http//query. nytimes. com/gst/fullpage. html? res=9C02EFD7143CF937A25755C0A9649C8B63> Smith, Neil. The Bourne Identity. British Broadcasting Corporation. (September 2002). 24 March 2007. <http//www. bbc. co. uk/films/2002/08/16/the_bourne_identity_2002_review. shtml> Taylor, Charles. The Bourne Identity. Salon. (14 June 2002). 24 March 2007. <http//dir. salon. com/story/ent/movies/review/2002/06/14/bourne/index. html> Younkin, Craig. Reviews The Bourne Identity. MovieFreak. 24 March 2007. <http//www. moviefreak. com/reviews/b/bourneidentity. htm>