The Bourne Identity

In a Nutshell: Not bad for a different twist on the spy thriller genre.

Quick Plot: Matt Damon wakes up on a ship with no clue as to who he is, except that he was pulled out of the sea with bullets in his back and a tiny cylinder embedded in his hip listing a Swiss bank account. People are after him, trying to kill him, and he has no idea why. He is also trained in many skills, not the least of which incapacitating people without much fuss or fanfare.

In Detail: I liked this movie fine. It had good suspense, and great car chases (reminded me of older James Bond films). I love films set in Europe, so this was an additional plus in my book. I do feel that it was missing something, though. It's like someone gave the screenwriter a 5-minute synopsis of the book, and he wrote the screenplay from that. Now, I have *not* read the book, this is just my feeling. I'm sure the book has all of the intricacies that I'm looking for that the movie was missing. It was still a fine 2 hours spent in the theater. Possibly worth full price, but a matinee is best. Again, wouldn't lose much on the small screen if you chose to wait. And I definitely want to read the book!

Will I Buy It? Probably not, unless the sequels are good and I need this one for the set.