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"THE BOURNE IDENTITY"
(2002) (Matt Damon, Franka Potente) (PG-13)

Alcohol/
Drugs
Blood/Gore Disrespectful/
Bad Attitude
Frightening/
Tense Scenes
Guns/
Weapons
Mild Heavy Extreme Heavy Extreme
Imitative
Behavior
Jump
Scenes
Music
(Scary/Tense)
Music
(Inappropriate)
Profanity
Mild Moderate Extreme None Heavy
Sex/
Nudity
Smoking Tense Family
Scenes
Topics To
Talk About
Violence
Mild Minor None Moderate Extreme


QUICK TAKE:
Action/Thriller: After being pulled from the sea with two bullet holes in his back, an amnesic man tries to figure out who he is and why various people want to capture and/or kill him.
PLOT:
An unconscious man (MATT DAMON) is pulled from the Mediterranean Sea with two bullet holes in his back. When he comes to, he has no idea who he is, why he ended up in that situation, or how he can speak his rescuers' native tongue. Armed with only a bank account number that was removed from his body along with the bullets, the man heads for Zurich in hopes of solving this mystery.

There, he discovers that his name is Jason Bourne and that he lives in Paris. Yet, the contents of his safety-deposit box also contain various passports with other names, a great deal of money and a gun. After a run-in with American Embassy guards who want to capture him for reasons unknown, he offers to pay a stranger, Marie Kreutz (FRANKA POTENTE), $10,000 to drive him to Paris. She reluctantly agrees and the two eventually arrive in the French capital, only to have a highly trained assassin attempt to kill Jason in his apartment.

Meanwhile, at CIA headquarters in Langley, VA, agent Ted Conklin (CHRIS COOPER) is trying to explain to his superior, Ward Abbott (BRIAN COX), what went wrong with a covert operation. They're also concerned about Nykwana Wombosi (ADEWALE AKINNUOYE-AGBAJE), an exiled African leader, who's writing a tell-all account of the agency's history in his land and is threatening to name names if they don't help return him to power.

As Paris-based operative Nicolette (JULIA STILES) keeps Conklin informed of Wombosi's activities, she does the same regarding Jason and Marie. With Conklin calling in additional operatives, including The Professor (CLIVE OWEN), to take care of both matters, Jason and Marie try to figure out who he really is and why he's obviously so highly trained in spy-related matters, all while avoiding others' various attempts at capturing or killing him.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?
If they're fans of spy thrillers or anyone in the cast they might, but otherwise this one doesn't look terribly appealing to pre-teens.
WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13
For violence and some language.
CAST AS ROLE MODELS:
  • MATT DAMON plays a man with amnesia who slowly learns that he's a top-secret government operative who various people want dead. He uses profanity (some of it strong) and kills some people sent to kill him.
  • FRANKA POTENTE plays a German woman who agrees to drive Jason to Paris and ends up involved in his complicated and dangerous journey of discovery about his real identity.
  • CHRIS COOPER plays a government director who wants Jason killed so as to cover up his existence and earlier assignment.
  • CLIVE OWEN plays another government operative who's sent to kill Jason.
  • BRIAN COX plays another government executive who isn't happy with how Conklin is handling the Bourne situation.
  • ADEWALE AKINNUOYE-AGBAJE plays a former national leader who claims Jason tried to assassinate him and is apparently threatening to blackmail the CIA.
  • JULIA STILES plays another government operative who works for Conklin.
  • CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

    HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE


    Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
    Then read OUR TAKE of this film.


    (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).


    OUR WORD TO PARENTS:
    The following is a brief summary of the content found in this spy thriller that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of at least 1 "f" word, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also heard. Violence includes several deaths by gunfire and a man jumping to his death, while various characters fight and/or strike others, often with rather harsh blows.

    Some of that violence has bloody results (along with some bullet removal scenes that might be too much for the squeamish), a few moments might startle viewers (jump scenes), and various scenes and material could be unsettling or suspenseful to some. Meanwhile, various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes, a couple is seen making out and beginning to disrobe (with implied sex), and some characters drink or smoke.

    Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.

    For those concerned with bright flashes of light on the screen, some of that occurs in the first scene of the movie during a thunderstorm.


    ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE
  • A man has a beer in a restaurant.
  • Marie drinks liquor from a small bottle to calm her nerves.
  • A woman walks by carrying drinks in a hotel lobby.
  • BLOOD/GORE
  • When Jason's wetsuit is cut open, the man working on him finds several bullet holes in Jason's back (just holes and no blood). We then see that man working on the hole and removing a bullet slug and both are now bloody. That man then takes a scalpel, cuts through another part of his skin (with some blood) and pulls out a small device that's also bloody.
  • Jason looks in a mirror at the now bloodless bullet holes in his back.
  • As assassin has some blood on his face while fighting Jason, and then pulls a ballpoint pen from the top of his hand (after Jason jabs it there) and both are bloody.
  • As Jason and Marie exit his building, they see a woman with a bloody bullet hole wound in her forehead (with a trickle of blood down from it).
  • We hear Marie vomit, but don't see anything.
  • We see a dead man on the street (after he jumped to his death - but we don't see the impact).
  • A man who's been shot has some blood on his face and shirt.
  • Conklin has some blood from his nose after being punched, while Jason has some blood on his head after a fight.
  • DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE
  • Conklin and the various assassins he directs have both types of attitudes for wanting to kill Jason and killing others.
  • FRIGHTENING SCENES
  • Scenes listed under "Violence" may also be unsettling or suspenseful to some viewers.
  • We see a man working on a bullet hole in Jason's back and removing a slug and both (the hole and slug) are now bloody. That man then takes a scalpel, cuts through another part of his skin (with some blood) and pulls out a small device that's also bloody. Those who are squeamish of such things probably won't like the scene.
  • Jason attempts to escape from an embassy after various guards come after him. As he makes his way up through the building, we see various guards/soldiers with automatic weapons trying to find him. He then makes his way out onto a small and unstable balcony where he stands on the wobbly and snowy railing and attempts to get on the roof. Part of that breaks and he then ends up hanging onto the side of the building on a narrow ledge as the guards/soldiers look out the door but don't see him below them. He then slowly makes his way around the building by holding onto small crevices and working his way around the corner and then down the side.
  • Once in his place in Paris, Jason gets the feeling that someone is in the large apartment and slowly makes his way through it.
  • There's a several minute car chase through Paris where Jason and Marie try to elude police in their tiny car that they drive down steps and through oncoming traffic, etc.
  • Jason tells a friend of Marie's to take his family down into the basement (when Jason gets nervous) and then heads outside where we see a sniper waiting for him. The sniper fires some shots and the two then get into a deadly game of cat and mouse through some woods and a tall, grassy field.
  • In a flashback, Jason holds a gun to a man's head to kill him, but can't when he sees the man's children there.
  • GUNS/WEAPONS
  • Handguns/Machine guns/Knife/Sniper Rifle/Shotgun: Seen, carried and/or used to threaten, wound or kill people. See "Violence" for details.
  • IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR
  • Phrases: "F*ck it," "I don't think she gives a sh*t," "Bullsh*t," "What the hell /are you doing to me/is that/have you done/are you talking about?" "Jerk," "Bastard," "Sucks," "Bloody" (adjective) and "Who the hell are you?"
  • The stylistically shot fighting and other violence might be enticing for some kids to imitate.
  • Jason shoots a propane (or similar gas) tank to cause a huge explosion.
  • We see that Marie has a tattoo on her shoulder.
  • JUMP SCENES
  • Jason suddenly comes to (from being unconscious) and grabs a man.
  • An assassin suddenly bursts through a window into Jason's place.
  • A person is suddenly shot dead (by an assassin).
  • MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)
  • An extreme amount of suspenseful, ominous and action-oriented music plays in the film.
  • MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)
  • None.
  • PROFANITY
  • At least 1 "f" word (another is mouthed), 6 "s" words (along with what may have been several German versions spoken by Marie), 6 hells, 4 uses each of "G-damn" and "Oh God," 2 of "Jesus Christ" and 1 use each of "By God," "Christ," "For Christ's sakes," "Jesus," "Oh my God" and "Swear to God" as exclamations.
  • SEX/NUDITY
  • Jason and Marie passionately kiss and she removes his tank top (while she's in her bra). The scene is brief and ends there, but it's implied they might have sex as we see them the next morning (he's up but she's still in bed).
  • SMOKING
  • Some miscellaneous men smoke in one scene.
  • TENSE FAMILY SCENES
  • None.
  • TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT
  • Amnesia.
  • Covert government missions and agents, and whether the government officially targets people for assassination.
  • Life and how things work in foreign cities.
  • VIOLENCE
  • Jason comes to (from being unconscious), grabs a man who was removing bullets from his back, thrashes him about and then has him by the throat.
  • After a Swiss cop pokes Jason with his nightstick on a city bench at night, Jason instinctively and quickly reacts and hits both men quite hard with the nightstick, leaving them unconscious.
  • After guards accost him, Jason takes them out, quickly hitting and punching them, sending them to the floor. He then has one of their guns and holds it on them before fleeing. He then punches a man in the gut and throws him down a flight of stairs while trying to get away.
  • An assassin suddenly bursts through a window into Jason's place firing a machine gun at Jason. The two men then struggle, with more machine gun fire going into the ceiling. The two then hit and punch each other and continue struggling. The two continue throwing punches and kicks at each other, and the assassin then pulls out a knife and comes at Jason. More hitting and kicking follows with Jason then stabbing a ballpoint pen into the top of the man's hand and then kicking him backwards. It then sounds like Jason breaks the man's arm and leg with several brutal blows. While trying to get the man to identity himself, Jason slams the man's head onto the floor. As Jason and Marie then talk, the man gets up and dives out the window to his death below (we don't see the impact, but do later see the body on the street).
  • As Jason and Marie exit his building, they see a woman with a bloody bullet hole wound in her forehead.
  • During a car chase through the streets of Paris, some vehicles crash into each other (with one van turning over onto its side) while a motorcycle cop wipes out. Jason then drives through a large glass door and a motorcycle cop runs into a stopped vehicle, flips over the hood and lands on the road.
  • An assassin shoots a man dead.
  • Jason pushes a man backwards against a wall.
  • Jason breaks a police car's window to get something from the car and then slams Marie back against a metal door while trying to convince her of something.
  • Jason breaks down a door.
  • Realizing an assassin is somewhere around a farmhouse, Jason rushes out and fires a shotgun blast into a propane (or similar gas) tank, causing a huge explosion. The assassin then spots him from a distance and fires several shots, but misses. The two then maneuver toward each other, with Jason firing a shot to make a flock of birds fly off (as a distraction).
  • Jason shoots and injures an assassin (in the arm). He then shoots the man again who dies a few moments later.
  • Jason slams Conklin back against a wall.
  • In a flashback, Jason holds a gun to a man's head to kill him, but can't when he sees the man's children there. Moments later, we hear that man shoot Jason twice and then see his body floating in the sea.
  • Jason throws Conklin across the room and into a wall. He then punches him in the face and then does so again, knocking him out.
  • Jason repeatedly slams a door into a hitman, and struggles with him over a gun with some punches. Jason then shoots another man, fights with the first man with brutal punches, and then smashes him into a railing. A third man then opens fire on Jason with machine gun fire from the bottom of a stairwell. Jason then drives a dead body through the railing and falls with it toward the floor while shooting the third man dead (Jason and the body then land quite hard on the floor).
  • An assassin shoots a man several times, killing him (we don't see the impact).



  • Reviewed June 6, 2002 / Posted June 14, 2002

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