The Bourne Identity (Cinema: August 2002)

We seem to be entering something of a reconditioned hinterland in HW lately. What with Gone in 60 Seconds, Planet of the Apes, Ocean's Eleven, (the ill-fated) Red Dragon & now The Bourne Identity. Those of you with good memories may recall the 3-hour (imDB says its 4) Richard Chamberlain/Jaclyn Smith post-Thorn Birds/pre- Hallmark TV movie of the same name. Considering both stars were building up velocity on their downward slide to TV hell & 3 hour TV movies at the time weren't much better than Lace or that Aussie revenge thing with the crocodile, The Bourne Identity proved surprisingly good, good enough for Warner Bros. to release it independently on video as a movie in its own right before it hit the small screen. In retrospect, Chamberlain retained enough rugged charisma to excite & Smith smouldered across the screen as one would expect from a former Charlie's Angel. Let's face it, to get through a 3 hour TV movie back in 1988 was some accomplishment when the majority of blockbusters weighed in around 90 minutes & anything approaching 2 hours was considered overindulgent, drawn out & downright boring. But this Robert Ludlum adapted page turner convinced enough to leave it's mark & proved memorable enough for some bright spark to green light the Ludlum produced remake we now have.

The trouble with The Bourne Indentity 2002 is that it feels more like a TV movie than the original ever did. Liman's direction is impressively weak, the story is diluted & overplayed, while the various generic elements it chooses to employ are nothing if not bulemic. Supposedly part spy thriller, part murder mystery, part love story, part hi-tech espionage, part conspiracy theory, each thread is so loosely woven & so lackadaisical you're left with a feeling of dread that you paid to see this tripe. When the end finally comes, who cares? Whereas the original managed some sort of life-affirming resolve, it's successor merely tries to be clever (& fails) & ends on a cliche so big & hollow & obvious you feel cheated.

The treadstone/state-created assassins theory is woefully out of date in light of Bridget Fonda's The Assassin (1993), The Pretender & Alias; the hi-technology low par compared to Enemy of the State (1998); the Parisian backdrop/car chases are far superior in The French Connection & even Ronin; the suspenseful plot: who is Jason Bourne? is presented on a tin platter 5 minutes in, Damon proves exceedingly dull compared to Richard Chamberlain & as far as secret agents go nobody does it better than Bond. The movie's only positive is the sultry Franka Potente who literally melts the screen but you have to concede even Julie Delpy did the love interest more convincingly in Killing Zoe (1994).

Search out the original TV movie & watch that instead.

RATING:

(c)Limer 2002