Cleveronix A different way of telling a story

BallWubba Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

Dirtylogy It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Ella-May O'Brien Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

MartinHafer Like the much more famous 2002 version starring Matt Damon, this elaborate and expensive looking TV mini-series (actually just a long two-part movie) is a non-stop roller-coaster ride of a picture. If you like action, then you are in for a treat....though you wouldn't exactly expect Richard Chamberlain to be playing an action star! A mini- series star yes...action hero...nah!When the film begins, Jason Bourne (Chamberlain) is shot, tossed overboard and assumed dead. Obviously someone dislikes the guy...at least just a bit! He soon washes up on shore in the south of France and is found by a doctor who manages to save him. But when Bourne awakens he has a serious problem. He has no idea who he is and the head wound no doubt is the reason why. While the doctor cannot tell him who he is, he does know he's someone unique, as he somehow survived, has had significant plastic surgery to hide his identity AND he had some secret information implanted in his leg!! Bourne is determined to discover who he is and very, very slowly tiny bits and pieces come back to him. The first big shock is that he has a bank account with $15,000,000 in it! The next is when he tries to withdraw some of it, bank employees begin shooting at him and he goes into super action hero mode! Clearly there is a very severe penalty at this place for an early withdrawal!! From here, the film continues with one killer after another coming for Jason...and he has no idea whether or not he's a good guy or a bad guy--but he is a LETHAL guy. And, there is some indication he MIGHT be the international mega-criminal, the Jackal! Along for the much of the ride is Marie (Jaclyn Smith), a Canadian woman vacationing in Europe. At first he grabs her in order to blend in and evade assassins. Later, she comes to realize her kidnapper is not one of the bad guys and she willingly helps him in his quest to see who he really is. The biggest strength of this film is that although it's practically non-stop action, because it's three hours long it gives you a bit of time to breath--something not possible in the later film because it was an hour shorter. How else it is better or worse I can't say. I've seen both, but saw the Matt Damon version long ago and cannot remember all of it--just that it was a bit too frenetic in pace. So is this any good? Well, yes and no. The plot, while frenetic (and I am not much of an action film lover--you should know that), the film is exciting and the plot satisfying and interesting. However, the movie also suffers from its love story....which just doesn't make much sense. Why does Marie fall for Jason so quickly?! Why do they go to bed together so quickly?! And, why does she continue to risk her life again and again for a man she doesn't really know?! None of this makes any sense.The bottom line is that this IS a very good film and is well worth seeing despite its love story. The international filming locations are pretty amazing for a made for TV film and the acting is generally pretty good. But, for a much better film involving Carlos the Jackal, try watching "Day of the Jackal"...one of the best suspense films of all time.FYI--You might be too young to know, but Carlos the Jackal is a REAL person--a real international terrorist and not just some character in films. Ilyich Ramírez Sánchez was nicknamed Carlot the Jackal and is currently in prison in France for his infamous crimes.

ebiros2 This is a fair or should I say more accurate portrayal of Jason Bourne from Robert Ludlum's novel. The new Matt Damon based "Bourne" was only made to make Matt Damon look good. It really lacked any sobriety.Richard Chamberlain, and Jaclyn Smith is a much more convincing as the characters they're portraying. They're also far better looking than Matt Damon, and the other chick that played their part.This is a made for TV movie and blows away the big budget Hollywood movie that's made years later. The movie is worth a watch because of the foresighted nature of Robert Ludlum's story. In the '80s, there was no one else talking about mind control, or a super soldier assassin. But in recent years, the now declassified MK ULTRA material emerged, and the fact that super soldier program like mentioned in this story indeed existed (and probably still does).Chamberlain has lot more expression as Jason Bourne than Matt Damon, which makes this an excellent mystery / action movie from the '80s.

jsalavar I flipped to this after seeing it on the channel guide thinking it was the Matt Damon version. I didn't know it had been a made-for-TV movie before Damon took a shot at it.I watched it for about 10 minutes and found it laughable. Maybe I didn't give it a chance but the action segment I saw with Chamberlin made him look more like a school teacher than an assassin.I can't recommend this to anyone as long as the Matt Damon version exists. Maybe I should read the book and then watch the 1988 version to see if it hold up better.OK, IMDb requires 10 lines of text. I have nothing more to say so this is just fluff talk.

Montserrat Casanova Although filmed in 1988 The Bourne Identity is still very actual, the fight against terrorism being very much on today's agenda as well. The two parts movie takes us mainly to Zürich, Paris and New York, to locations so beautifully chosen as to make the viewer wish he could visit them. A man looses his memory after being shot and enduring serious injuries. The story is his search of identity intelligently intertwined with the unfolding of an international secret services action to capture Carlos, a famous terrorist and assassin who kept the CIA and other intelligence agencies around the world on their toes for years. The writers of the script certainly had an arduous task condensing the complex plot, their talent created a compelling story, a sharp dialog without ever confusing the viewer. As mentioned The Bourne Identity unfolds in three different cities. In each of them new elements and characters are added thus making the pace of the show pick up momentum until it reaches a cathartic peak on E 71st street. The actor in the title role with whom we take the thrilling trip, rather roller-coaster ride, could only be Richard Chamberlain. His unique acting arc displays, with intensity, finesse and perfection, loving moments -- his face melting with love and crying for sadness when his failing memory catches glimpses of the past, his handsome and young body surrendering to the talented and attractive Jaclyn Smith who falls under the spell of this intriguing man -- and tough and violent moments paired with callousness, cold blood, swiftness of reactions, distress and cruel realizations as well as a formidable physical shape. Richard Chamberlain IS Jason Bourne and he is the one who keeps the viewer's attention tense during the entire movie. One of my preferred scenes is one confronting a French General played by the much missed Anthony Quayle and Jason Bourne/Richard Chamberlain, two great actors among the greatest, on stage and on the screen; so powerful a scene, it grips you, one almost forgets to breathe .... Magnificent acting, soldiers ! The Bourne Identity ends with a moral note, Jason Bourne/Richard Chamberlain once his mission accomplished questions the violence and the need for men to become monsters to fight monsters. In the very last scene, full of symbolism, our hero, tightly holding the arm of Marie St. Jacques/Jaclyn Smith walks out of a cemetery towards a new life where he hopes to make peace with himself and be capable of love again. A last word to say that Martin Rabbett is co-producer, adding his great talent to the list of those who made The Bourne Identity a big success.