Bourne Identity

THE FLICK: Robert Ludlum will be the first to admit he’s simply a storyteller. The late author says as much in the extras on Universal’s new Explosive Extended Edition DVD of THE BOURNE IDENTITY. But if you’ve ever picked up one of the Bourne novels and suffered through the piss-poor descriptive passages and thick-tongued dialogue, you might need some more convincing. Thankfully, the cinematic incarnation of amnesiac super-spy Jason Bourne (played by the unlikely choice of Matt Damon) emphasizes the strengths of Ludlum’s story, a noir-ish road trip of cobblestone street car chases and post-Cold War government conspiracies. Although some of the simple-minded plot holes come along for the ride, too. In a genre that traditionally values explosions over exposition, it’s nice to see director Doug Liman bring his free-wheeling, improv-style of filmmaking (see his infectiously fun debut “Go”). THE BOURNE IDENTITY still finds time for quick-cut hand-to-hand combat and gunplay, but the film uses action as exclamation points in a more character-based screenplay that focuses on Bourne’s paranoid confusion about his past. And in this case, they really are out to get him. Picked up by a fishing boat with nothing but two bullets in his back and a bank account number implanted under his skin, Jason Bourne finds he has no memory of who he is or who he was. But when the CIA labels him a marked man, he discovers survival skills he never knew he had. With the help of an innocent bystander, who eventually becomes a love interest (Franka Pontente), Bourne tries to slip through Europe undercover and discover the truth about his own disturbing identity. Damon excels at convincing the audience of his wide-eyed innocence, but (no matter how good the stunt choreography is) still isn’t 100% confident as an action-hero. He has too nice a haircut to be a trained killer. Luckily, the movie takes a different path, which is what ultimately makes it more worthy than most of the James Bond and Mission Impossible knock-offs currently playing on six screens. THE FEATURES: Make no mistake about it, this new version is simply meant to capitalize on THE BOURNE SUPREMACY which hits theaters the 23rd. But the movie money coupon good for free admission to the upcoming sequel helps lessen the blow. There’s some new stuff and some missing stuff compared to the previous collector’s edition already on DVD. But the big selling point is an alternate opening and closing, which are incorporated into the film via point-and-click branching. Other than that, it’s the same movie besides this 7-minute addition. Other extras include a segment on author Robert Ludlum (5 min), deleted scenes (7 min), an interview with screenwriter Tony Gilroy (4 min), anatomy of a fight scene (5 min), some psycho-babble about amnesia (3.5 min), a CIA spook (5 min), sound mixers sound-off (4 min) and a do-it-yourself sound FX demonstration. The Bourne Diagnosis (3.5 min) is your only glimpse into the workings of the upcoming sequel and you have to look quick. FINAL SCORE: It’s your call, but if you haven’t picked this one up earlier the free ticket off is hard to pass up. The extras are on the slight side, but the feature itself is even more impressive on the small screen. Maybe Matt can make a franchise out of this yet.