RETROSPECTIVE: The Bourne Identity (2002)

Director: Doug Liman
Starring: Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Chris Cooper, Brian Cox, Clive Owen
Running Time: 118 minutes
Genre: Action adventure

Matt Damon's first outing as Jason Bourne in 2002's The Bourne Identity was an exciting and occasionally exhilarating Euro thriller. The film (even more so with Greengrass's sequels) helped shape a new, darker and more realistic hero and take on action cinema, with its strive for realism over sensationalism and a reliance on intrigue and suspense filled action thrills over high and extravagant body counts. The Bourne Identity was the catalyst in the re-imagining of a genre on the wane. Released in the same year as the twentieth Bond film, the abysmal Die Another Day, Doug Liman's take on Robert Ludlum's spy franchise provided the perfect antidote to the now silly and irrelevant Bond saga that had began to sink under the sheer ridiculousness of the special effects driven gadgets and unimpressive villains/character development. Jason Bourne came at a time where films like xXx were being made and while being profitable, were just not very good. Bourne in essence returned action cinema to positive critical reception and reshaped Hollywood ideals on what the audience wanted to see.

Damon's Bourne is a complex character, one who is not the same man he was before the yacht shooting, a killer who has regained his conscience. In contrast to the ultra assured and confident guise of Bond (and backed by M16), Bourne is seen as a threat to his government, is suffering from amnesia and doesn't remember anything of his former life and has little to no backup or support. This change around, with the lead having to utilize basically a guerilla defence against his former employers and his constant being on edge with the prospect of assassins constantly on his tail allow him little time for wisecracks or any of the suave elegance Bond was afforded. There is a pace to the thrills in Bourne, they are quick and elaborate but never cross the borders of realism (on-screen 'movie' realism anyway). Perhaps the finest set-piece of The Bourne Identity (embedded below) that typifies the gritty and serious direction the film goes in is Bourne's confrontation with fellow assassin 'The Professor' (Clive Owen). There are no smiles, humour or show-boating, it is just what has to be done and the little talk between Bourne and The Professor (and with all credit to Owen, who gives a memorable performance despite the small screen time he gets) is not one hatred or illogical dislike for each other, it was what they are trained to do and The Professor's talk about the headaches (which Bourne complained about earlier) fills one with sympathy for him, as he is ultimately in the same predicament as Bourne. 

The films central villains Conklin (Chris Cooper) and Abbott (Brian Cox) are as reprehensible as possible, only self-serving and out to cover their backs which leads them to use Bourne as a scapegoat. Cooper is excellent and has a menace to his performance that draws you even closer to Bourne's fight. The most important plot point that makes Bourne likeable is his relationship with Marie (Franka Potente) and their relationship comes off as being genuine and Damon excels at these scenes, where you can see Bourne slowly falling in love with her, much like a boys first crush. A scene that Marie shows her obvious attraction to Bourne (but he is too preoccupied to notice) is when they arrive at the apartment in Paris, is a scene of genuine sweetness that only makes the viewer hope that they get away and live happily ever after. Despite all its strengths (and perhaps being held up to the vastly superior sequels), The Bourne Identity suffers from being too long and drawn out in parts and with Wombosi storyline in particular given too much screen time (despite it's necessity to the overall plot, it could have been handled better). 

Despite these small issues, The Bourne Identity all serves as a great origin story (much like Casino Royale, Batman Begins and countless others would do in the wake of Bourne's success) that Paul Greengrass would build on and elevate to unprecedented levels of greatness in the two sequels. Moreover, The Bourne Identity works as a great standalone thriller and equally serves as a good set-up for the sequels. Damon's now iconic performance as Bourne contains many of the traits that the modern action hero has come to embody, with his relationship with Marie as an emotional anchor and compass for him in his search for the truth and ultimately for freedom. Identity is a classic of modern action cinema.

84

FILM REVIEW: A Lonely Place to Die (2011)

Director: Julian Gilbey
Starring: Melissa George, Ed Speleers, Sean Harris, Eamonn Walker and Karel Roden
Running Time: 99 minutes
Genre: Thriller

I saw Julian Gilbey's 'A Lonely Place to Die' knowing very little about the film. Marketed as a mountain climbing adventure that gets out-of-hand by the wonderfully misleading posters/promotional materials for the film that advertise a Cliffhanger-type thriller hide a truly great and thoroughly entertaining thriller that is tough and unforgiving and builds to a highly effective and strong finale. This is all propelled by a strong cast, relentless pace and terrific set-pieces. 

Set in the wilderness of the Scottish Highlands, a crew of inexperienced mountaineers come across a kidnapped young foreign girl buried in a chamber. What follows is their attempts to get to a local town and warn the authorities. However, the kidnappers are on their trail and what should be a routine mountaineering expedition becomes a nightmare for all involved. The group, who are perhaps slightly generic on the surface with the battling female lead, the funny guy/love interest, the arsehole, the mother who misses her child and the fake lead. But with credit to Gilbey, the characters do not have long to fill these roles as once the kidnappers find out the young girl is missing, the action is relentless and the kidnapper's vicious in their pursuit of the girl. We are given very little insight to why the girl is so valuable, but with the introduction of  Darko (Karel Roden) and Andy (Oz's Eamonn Walker) the pieces fall into place. Melissa George is a great lead, tough yet inexperienced, she makes you feel for her plight. Ed (Ed Speleers) could easily be an annoying sidekick, but Speleers does a good job of keeping him amusing and genuine, and his making light of their horrible situation provides much needs moments of comic relief. The villains Mr. Kidd (the vastly underrated Sean Harris) and Mr. McRae (Stephen McCole) are worthy adversaries and are cold, vicious and brutal (as exhibited in their memorable introduction). Not to spoil from the films best set-pieces, but once the first shot is fired, the film becomes relentless in pace with the action non-stop and Kidd and McRae's menace becoming swiftly ominous. 

'A Lonely Place to Die' is a great little thriller. Despite the minor logic flaws, this a tough and entertaining film with George carrying the film with her charisma and presence in opposite to the devilish and sinisterly excellent Harris and McCole. If you like films with a raw edge, non-stop tension and action and a satisfyingly tense finale that packs a punch, 'A Lonely Place to Die' is for you. 

76

FILM REVIEW: The Raid: Redemption (Serbuan Maut) (2012)

Director: Gareth Huw Evans

Starring: Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim, Donny Alamsyah, Yayan Ruhain and Pierre Gruno.

Running Time: 101 minutes

Genre: Action thriller

Indonesia is not a place you would traditionally associate with being at the center of modern Asian action cinema. Despite this, Welsh born director Gareth Huw Evans (who is based in Indonesia) has crafted one of the most entertaining, exhilaratingly pure action films ever made. Being an Indonesian production has only helped Evans in his vision, as surely a film with this level of violence and mayhem would have struggled to be financed in Western cinema. Without a doubt, The Raid: Redemption is the best action film since 2003's Thai martial arts epic Ong-Bak. 

The story is staggeringly simple and perhaps the films tagline is the perfect synopsis of what to expect here; "1 ruthless crime lord, 20 elite cops, 30 floors of chaos", simple, but highly effective. The lack of plot is almost instantly is forgiven (and forgotten) as the early exchanges only serve to amp up the 90 minutes of batshit bonkers madness that is going to follow. We are introduced to our hero Rama (Iko Uwais) and his fellow squad of stereotypes and cardboard cut-outs who we all know are only there for one thing; to die. We also get an unflinching and brutally explicit early look at the crime lord (and his two henchmen) and what our heroes are getting themselves into. Once the squad enter the building, all subtlety goes out the window and quickly descends into chaos, terrifically choreographed chaos with some of the most impressive and badass martial arts and shoot-outs ever seen on screen. While comparisons to 1988 action classic have been highlighted in some reviews (hero stuck in a building full of criminals), it bears very little resemblance and is more like Die Hard's coked-out-of-his-mind distant relative. The thrills come thick and fast and are high-octane and thrilling in equal measure. Necks snap, bones break, blood is let; it is an action junkies dreamland. But more importantly, each set piece is terrifically shot and entertaining and any slight concerns about set design or characterization go out the window (like some unfortunate characters literally do).

Gareth Huw Evans's The Raid: Redemption is the action event of the year. Highly inventive, in your face and containing a badassery level that is off the charts, The Raid: Redemption is a thrill-ride of chaos and carnage that will leave you breathless. And more good news, Evans is planning sequels. Oh my.

90

FILM REVIEW: How I Spent My Summer Vacation (aka Get the Gringo) (2012)

Director: Adrian Grunberg
Starring: Mel Gibson, Kevin Hernandez, Peter Stormare, Peter Gerety and Dean Norris.
Running Time: 96 minutes
Genre: Crime thriller

Mel Gibson's has had a tough time of it lately. His personal life has been full of embarrassing and controversial (however true they may be) behaviour. But whatever you may think of him as a person; as an actor, he is still the charismatic lead man that made him a worldwide star for over the 30 years. He carries this fun little thriller emphatically and even though the youthful looks have given way to an older, grizzled looking Gibson, he can still bring the chuckles and badassery when needed and with aplomb.

Driver (Gibson) is sent to jail in Mexico after stealing money from a dangerous crime boss (Peter Stormare). The premise is simple in that respect. However, the prison is unlike any prison you have ever seen before and is more like a town, where the powerful control the flow of drugs while the guards prevent violence and bloodshed. It may not be the most accurate portrayal of the prison system but it provides plenty of opportunities for fun set-pieces as Driver hatches an escape plan with the aid of a local kid (Kevin Hernandez) and his mother (Dolores Heredia). The mother and son are kept in the prison for a reason that endears them to Driver and soon we have entertaining sequences with Driver showing the kid the tricks of the trade. The humour in the film is great, it doesn't take itself too seriously and Gibson is not afraid to poke fun at himself, which is refreshing for an actor certain media have branded as a monster. In particular, a scene where love at first sight doesn't go as planned between Driver and Kid's Mom is a wonderful piece of misdirection and sets up the kind of film we're dealing with here, it's snappy and quick paced with great wit. Despite the often light tone, once the bullets start flying, it is as bloody and violent as they come. 

Gibson is back with a bang. He shows the natural charm and charisma that has delighted audiences for decades. Unfortunately due to his personal life this film seems to not have given a chance in the States and that's a great shame because this is a genuinely entertaining thriller that doesn't take itself too seriously. If you want a film that is darkly humourous and highly entertaining, How I Spent My Summer Vacation is definitely the film for you and a greatly enjoyable 90 minutes.

77