Underplayed Gems

The Bourne Identity (2002)

The Bourne Identity poster
Directed by
Doug Liman
Genre
action film, mystery film, spy film, thriller film, action thriller, political thriller film
Country
Czech Republic, Germany, United States
Runtime
1h 59m
Rated
PG-13
Rating
7.5 of 10 from 10,177 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

A man is found floating in the Mediterranean Sea with bullet wounds and no memory of who he is. He discovers he has deadly combat skills and must piece together his identity while being hunted by assassins and the CIA.

urgentparanoidfast-pacedtensegrittysuspensefulgroundedpropulsive

What happens

The Bourne Identity is a 2002 American action-thriller film directed by Doug Liman and written by Tony Gilroy and William Blake Herron. Based on Robert Ludlum's 1980 novel of the same name, it is the first installment in the Bourne franchise, and stars Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Chris Cooper, Clive Owen, Brian Cox, and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje. In the film, Jason Bourne (Damon) has psychogenic amnesia and is forced to fight to unlock his identity and his mysterious connection to the CIA. Attempts to develop a feature film adaptation of Ludlum's novel first began in 1981 but stalled after being passed to different distributors, with Warner Bros. producing a television film adaptation in 1988. Liman revived the feature film project in 1996 and worked with Ludlum and David Self on its screenplay after Gilroy initially declined: Gilroy made several changes to the script upon joining, with additional contributions from Herron. After Damon and Potente were cast, principal photography began in October 2000 and lasted until February 2001, with filming taking place in Paris, Prague, Imperia, Rome, Mykonos, and Zürich. Production was troubled: the creators frequently clashed with studio executives over delays, costs, last-minute changes, and unexpected reshoots. Originally set for release in September 2001, it was theatrically released in the United States on June 14, 2002, by Universal Pictures. The film received positive reviews from critics, with many considering it one of the most influential action films of all time, and grossed $214 million worldwide on a budget of $60 million. It was followed by the sequels The Bourne Supremacy (2004), The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), The Bourne Legacy (2012) and Jason Bourne (2016). (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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