The Bourne Identity (2002) is an action/mystery/thriller movie based on the 1980 novel written by Robert Ludlum of the same name. The film won three awards in 2003, most notably, Nick Powell's American Choreography Award for Outstanding Achievement in Fight Choreography for the fight scene in Bourne's Paris apartment. The Bourne Identity was directed by Doug Liman, the American film director and producer. He is the co-owner of the production company Hypnotic. While the movie was primarily based on Ludlum's novel, Liman rebuilt Conklin's character after being inspired by his father's memoirs regarding his involvement in the Iran–Contra affair investigation. Liman admitted that he removed content from the novel beyond its central premise to modernize the material and keep to his own beliefs regarding United States foreign policy. Liman ensured not to cram his political views down the audience's throat; however, there were concerns regarding the film's possible outdatedness and reception after the September 11 attacks. Their worries proved groundless.
Matt Damon plays the titular role of Jason Bourne coupled with the supporting cast of Franka Potente, Chris Cooper, Clive Owen, Brian Cox, and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje. While most of the movie was set in Paris and Zurich, filming locations were Paris, Italy, Prague, and Mykonos. Scenes of Zurich were filmed in both Italy and Prague due to their architectural similarities. The premise of The Bourne Identity is about a man who is picked up by a fishing boat, suffering from amnesia. After finding a chip in his hip, he travels to Zurich and races to elude assassins and attempts to regain his memory. The movie follows three different storylines with different characters that merge in the climax. Who are the good guys, if any, in the film? Where does Bourne lie on the morality spectrum?
In short, there are no good guys in the movie. The hero, Jason Bourne, is a trained assassin, and apparently, he's one of the best the CIA had. When Bourne and Conklin finally meet, Conklin grills Bourne to find out what happened in the failed assassination of Wombosi. When he realizes that Bourne genuinely cannot remember what happens, Conklin decides to remind him:
"You brought John Kane to life. You put together a meeting with Wombosi.
You found the security office. You broke into his office! For Christ's sake,
you picked the yacht as the goddamn strike point! You picked the boat.
You picked the day. You tracked the crew. The food, the fuel! You told us
where. You told us when. You hid out on that boat for five days. You were
in, Jason. You were in! It was over."
This triggered Bourne to remember the event on the boat on the scheduled day of Wombosi's assassination. He recalled that he failed to kill Wombosi because he was surrounded by his family. His daughter was sleeping on his chest, his wife in a chair, and his son on the couch. Bourne collected himself and did not shoot Wombosi against his direct orders from Treadstone. Because he let his morals get in the way of his mission, he is targeted for death by Treadstone and every other sleeper agent in France.
Just because there are no good guys in the film doesn't mean that they're all bad guys. Bourne, the protagonist, would be considered an anti-hero. He's technically a hero, but his methods are pretty in-heroic. After all, he did kill people for a living. The technicians working at Treadstone aren't technically bad guys either; they're following orders from their superiors. Same with the sleeper agent who came to kill Bourne in Paris and on Eamon's family farm. Same with Marie: she ended up driving a fugitive to a different country and then stayed with him throughout his mission.
We know, for sure, that there is one good guy in the movie: the doctor who saved Bourne's life and helped him regain his sense of self. Even though Bourne didn't kill Wombosi because of Wombosi's family, that doesn't make him a 'good guy.' That just makes him not a bad guy, but now that he has a fragment of a memory, it proves to the audience that Bourne has a conscience. He isn't just a government killing machine. Bourne is the stereotypical action hero: male, muscular, fluent in more than two languages, knows all the fighting styles and has a grudge against a government agency. Booooooringggggg. Not sure if you can tell by the quality of this essay, but this movie is one of my least favorite movies ever. The characters have no development, and the film fails to keep viewers engaged. As is the case with any action movie. My dad, though, loves the Bourne franchise for some unknown reason. So please, if you do genuinely like the Bourne movies for the plot, please let me know.
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