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What would James Bond be if you took away his car, his gadgets, his babes, his suave and his memory? Well after all that you would have Matt Damon as Jason Bourne in the new flick The Bourne Identity. Here Damon plays a rogue operative of the CIA who, after a botched assignment, loses all memory of who he is and is left with two bullet holes and not much else. Lucky to be alive, he sets out to find out who he is. Along the way, he meets and enlists the aid of Marie (Franka Potente) who helps him get to Paris to sort things out.

Matt Damon gives a credible performance as the spy on the run and was pretty impressive during the fight sequences. What I especially liked was the insight into his mind as Bourne tries to figure out who he is. He never forgot his training. It was like instinct to him, and I enjoyed how he sized things up. Memorizing license plates, assessing the room, looking for exits, etc... You know - spy stuff. One of the best moments of the film utilized his unique skills to acquire some information and, after setting up a complex plan, it was fun to watch Marie just stroll in and simply ask for it. Sometimes, the best plans are the simplest ones.

The only problem that I had with the movie was Marie's reason for being with Bourne. At first, she was just a ride to Paris, paid $20,000 to take him. Once that part was done there was no real reason for her to stay with him. To this point there was no sexual attraction to stay or any other real reason for that matter. But after killing another agent in front of her, and instead of leaving her in a state of shock he takes her with him. Even later in the movie, and almost after every scene of danger, Marie is told by Bourne to leave him. He tries to tell her to go away and begs her to leave, but she doesn't. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the chemistry between Damon and Potente, but it was just a bit of a stretch to keep them together until the obligatory sex scene, one more dangerous encounter for the two of them and finally ending their journey together because he doesn't want her to get hurt. If she got hurt, then he wouldn't be able to walk into her new life at the end of the movie.

It's actually easy to overlook that flaw because the rest of the movie is very enjoyable. It moves at a fast pace with just enough pauses for the viewer to catch their breath. The chase scenes in the streets of Paris are very good, and reminded me a bit of the chase sequences in Bullitt. Let's just say that Steve McQueen would have been proud of them. This movie also brought me back to a bit of reality, meaning that not every action fist fight needs to rival the fight scenes of The Matrix. The close quarters hand to hand combat in this movie was very well done and exciting to watch. The fights flowed naturally and allowed Damon to flex some of his muscle. What I also liked was that Damon's character was intelligent and the way things happened seemed so natural and not just some script device to keep the action flowing. His character is given depth and Damon is able to pull it off.