Illustrious actor? Check. Action-packed thriller? Check. 2 hours of vivacious excellence? Check. Matt Damon transforms into a dangerous, invisible, 30 million dollar CIA weapon known as Jason Bourne, who ventures out to unveil the secrets of his past that are cloaked by his amnesia while also managing any and all pesky obstacles that may get in his way. Fear of his name spreads like wildfire to the point that even I shudder to the sound of "Jason Bourne." He is a giant amongst ants, and he instantly makes it known that he has no such problem squashing a few bugs to get where he wants to go. Where is that, exactly? Well, that's just the thing, not even Bourne himself knows... yet.

Bourne Identity is like all of our favorite action/adventure movies, like James Bond, but instead, it's Jason Bourne who utilizes far less super-agent style gadgets, and way more explosive, hand-to-hand combat. The film starts ominously with the camera fixated on what appears to be a corpse in the middle of the ocean. A fishing boat cruises by and retrieves the body to discover one Matt Damon with bullet holes ripped through his backside. The fisherman begins to fish the shrapnel (get it?) from his body when he wakes up in an enraged, clueless frenzy, immediately grasping the fisherman's arm and erupting a flurry of questions that nobody seems to know the answer to. The fisherman only knows to respond by generously giving the stranger some money, as well as some strange device that was lodged in his back along with the bullets. The device lead him to a bank where everybody knew him as Jason Bourne. As his thirst for more answers grew increasingly dangerous, so did his foes who wished those bullets hadn't simply stopped at his back.

Throughout the film, Jason Bourne discovers more and more about who he really is. The questions that remain act as fuel, igniting Bourne's fighting spirit as he overcomes all odds that try to prevent him from learning too much. There is one such scene that is most memorable in Bourne Identity due to it's immaculate introduction, commendable choreography, and eccentric execution of fighting techniques. This is where Bourne's character truly shimmers. Taking in all of the enthralling energy of Bourne Identity's flawless finesse feels like adrenaline is being injected directly in your brain. There is never a dull moment where suspense dwindles, it either builds, or it's full extent is let loose in an all-out skirmish such as this one. And even after the fight ends, Bourne just casually says "Okay, we gotta go now," as if he just finished locking his front door before he went shopping for his favorite cereal and fresh strawberries for tomorrow's breakfast. Of course, we all know he has no time to attend to such menial chores. No, he's too busy not dying even though there is always someone who tries to persuade him to do so.

Even though Bourne Identity is mainly about suspenseful turmoil, there is always room for a line or two where you can't help but laugh in admiration of Bourne's cleverness and quick thinking. There are always those stereotypical "Meet me at 'blah blah blah' bridge at 'so-and-so' o'clock, and come alone..." moments that always demonstrate an intense encounter between the two different sides of the movie. Well in this case, Bourne is way to smart to walk himself into the predictable trap. He sets up the meeting point, but instead of being there himself, he strategically stations a few blocks a way on the roof of a building, watching patiently. After scouting around at the other people, he easily notices a few of them talking to their wrist or nodding their heads at nothing in particular, you know, key signs that they are also incorporated within the organization, whatever it may be. To this, Bourne decides to make a phone call to the official he set up the meeting with, basically saying "Nice try, I saw all your CIA friends, now you just missed the only chance you ever had to get near me." As if this isn't satisfying enough, the looks of defeat on the faces of all the agents is beyond priceless. For a Central Intelligence Agency, you would think they would be, I don't know, the actual center of intelligence, but from the way I see it, these agents better start taking notes because school is in session, and Professor Bourne does not like to repeat himself.

Bourne Identity exemplifies everything you would want to see in an action movie, but even two hours chock-full of screen time isn't enough to capture the full story of Jason Bourne. No, he needs an entire Bourne Trilogy, along with a direct sequel to the third movie to give us, as the audience, a full understanding of his struggle, and how he overcomes it. With a mind blowing film series as rare as this one, it's hard not to feel poignant towards the ending of what is easily, in my opinion, Matt Damon's biggest success as an astounding actor. But no worries, with the power of the internet, these movies can be re-Bourne over and over again to your heart's desire.