DVD Review HTF REVIEW: "The Bourne Identity" (with screenshots) (1 Viewer)

[Tim Glover]

really good transfer. Audio on both Dolby Digital and DTS is very good, but really lacks the bass throughout as Ron stated. In fact sometimes the sounds can be so bright without the bass that it can become fatiguing. I increased the subwoofer volume some and that helped. Still a very good dvd.

One gripe and I know that this is picky and probably why the studios think we are spoiled and hard to please, but the trailer is in only Dolby 2.0, not 5.1. Not the end of the world mind you but still a disappointment. If Undercover Brother gets a 5.1 trailer and teasers, why do we get only one trailer and it's 2.0???

 

[Paul_Scott]

saw this at the theater last summer with friends who had reccommended it. i was expecting a modestly diverting little popcorn flick that hopefully wouldn't suck too bad, and after it was over i had to admit i enjoyed it.

over the last few months though, an odd thing has happened and this movie actually gets better everytime i think of it.
so many things about it were refreshing in this post matrix-wasteland, where every action movie has to have a techo-playstation soundtrack and michael bay A.D.D edits.
lower-key is right, and what a breath of fresh air that is.

this was one of the few films that i have a higher opinion of the more thought i give it.
looking forward to seeing it again.

 

[ErichH]

What a breath of fresh air indeed!
Just passed this tonight, and it's still as good as I remembered in the theater.
The audio is excellent, and I think I'll be replaying this one a lot before it goes into the occasional category.

The European feel of this film is really great!

Eric

 

[Ben Jordan]

I just can't wait for the next two in this trilogy! Anyone have any idea when the next installment is supposed to come out?

 

[Dharmesh C]

What a boring film, despite an interesting premise, I didn't give a damn about anything. I love these types of low key pictures, but there seemed very little new ground broken.
Not in the same league as On Her Majesty's Secret Service, The Living Daylights, Licence To Kill or Ronin.
Good picture and good sound, the opening has some terrific rear effects

 

[DarrylWHarrisJr]

Kenneth -
Sum of All Fears is a great movie?? I guess you are title to your opinion
Nickey Foley -
yeah Matt Damon is a really good actor unlike is pop buddy Ben Affleck. Matt seems to pick is movies for content and subject matter and Ben is more the "flashy" type. I'm at the point where I skip films with Ben and check out Matt's flick any day no matter what the reviews (that includes my least favored, overrated director Kevin Smith).

 

[Jeremy Anderson]

Since getting my 6.1 system, I've become more aware of which movies seem to make use of the rear surround. I don't know that The Bourne Identity was encoded for DTS-ES but there's a particular scene in Kane's apartment where Bourne starts to sense that something is about to happen, and this sound like a rolling hubcap moves around the room in a complete circle about three times. It decoded perfectly with Matrix 6.1! Moments like that really make me feel better about buying new gear! Not to mention the fact that this is an excellent movie.

 

[Guy Usher]

I actually think the judicious use of bass worked to the film's advantage, it seemed very realistic, gunshots sounded like gunshots, they were load but guns are load. Even though the star had super human abilities, which didnt concern me either, I think it came across very well almost believable. At times I felt the pain he was going thru trying to "right' himself. A very simple story line but done, IMO, right. Time passed quickly and at times I was on the edge of my seat, thought I had become jaded by all the films of this type then this comes along, much better than I thought it would be.
I thought Steve McQueen did the first one. . . Richard Chamberlin. . . say it isnt so. . . .

 

[Robert_eb]

I just watched this for the third time in three days (netflix rental). Great dts sountrack. And lets not forget about the wonderful performance from Franka Potente.

 

[Nelson Au]

I just couldn't help thinking that with the casting of Clive Owen in this film, the director deliberately put him in a BMW. I'll have to listen the audio commnetary, but it seems to me to either be a coincidence, or a joke in reference to Owen's work as the "Driver" for the BMW films. It had to be deliberate on someone's part.

Nelson

 

[Kim D]

From the trivia page on imdb

The character played by Clive Owen is clearly driving a BMW as he does in the BMW commercials.

 

[Kim D]

and from his page on imdb:

Had a recurring role on a series of BMW commercials as their mysterious driver. He played a valet in the film Gosford Park (2001) and played an unnamed character driving a BMW in _Bourne Identidy, The (2002)_ .

 

[Nelson Au]

Kim-

I'm not sure the intention of my post was clear or I read your posts right. Regarding Clive Owen's appearance in The Bourne Identity, yes, it's clear he's in a BMW.

I was just thinking, did the director do this as a reference to his work in the BMW film series, The Hire. Was it a joke, was it a wink at the audience, was it just a plain coincidence!

Nelson

 

[Joel Vardy]

It’s not a bad movie. It’s actually good. What helps this movie is that they go natural and low-key. It never had the big Hollywood feeling and that makes it a lot more personal and believable.

My sentiments exactly . On the strength of this review and some additional posts I bought this title without having seen it in the theaters (I'm doing that more and more). I think it has a very unusual quality and should be very rewatchable. Thanks for turning me on to it.
Joel

 

[kevin_asai]

DTS track on this disc is simply awesome.

 

[Mike Kelly]

With two other Bourne novels, this could become a mini-franchise. Some films hit you as fitting into the rewatchable category. This is one of them. I think Damon will only get better as he matures into this character. My only real complaint was that I wished Chris Cooper's character was less cliched and one dimensional.
SPOILER ALERT for those who haven't seen the film:
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Lyman used a clever bit of editing at the end when the final assassin was waiting in the car. At first I thought he substituted Matt Damon for a long shot of Chris Cooper leaving the building to fool you into thinking the assassin was after Damon. Lyman DID want to fool us, but it was legitimate by editing Damon and Cooper on different streets. Nicely done.

 

[JeremySt]

What is the music during the alternate ending?

 

[Jeff Kohn]

With two other Bourne novels, this could become a mini-franchise.

Well, the first movie pretty much decimated the plot of the first book; I seem to recall the director actually bragging that he told the script-writer not to read the book, because he wanted the writer to work from his treatment/vision of the story. So I think it would be kind of hard for them to follow the plots of the later books in future movies. I'm sure that won't stop them from making additional movies, though.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the movie and purchased the DVD (though I'm a bit baffled by Ron's review of the DVD's picture quality). I thought Matt Damon did surprisingly well in the lead role. It's just that the only thing the movie had in common with the book was an amnesiac spy named Jason Bourne.

 

[Mike Kelly]

True Jeff, but now that Bourne knows who he is, there are enough story threads in all three Ludlam books to continue the franchise. Or, as in the case of the later Bond films, they can come up with their own stories.

 

[Dom P.]

I have to say I was a little let down by this movie. That maybe because I was expecting it to be really outstanding.

I enjoyed the film, but it just didn't quite meet my expectations.