The official film trailer from this incredible action film with Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Chris Cooper, Julia Stiles and Brian Cox. Directed by Doug Liman.

The critical reception of the film was largely positive, with the film review collection website, Rotten Tomatoes, giving the film an 83% approval rating. Roger Ebert gave the film three stars and praised it for its ability to absorb the viewer in its “spycraft” and “Damon’s ability to be focused and sincere” concluding that the film was “unnecessary, but not unskilled”. Walter Chaw of Film Freak Central praised the film for its pacing and action sequences, describing them as “kinetic, fair, and intelligent, every payoff packaged with a moment’s contemplation crucial to the creation of tension” and that the movie could be understood as a clever subversion of the genre. Charles Taylor of Salon.com acclaimed the film as “entertaining, handsome and gripping, The Bourne Identity is something of an anomaly among big-budget summer blockbusters: a thriller with some brains and feeling behind it, more attuned to story and character than to spectacle” and praised Liman for giving the film a “tough mindedness” that never gives way into “cynicism or hopelessness”.

Ed Gonzalez of Slant Magazine also noted Doug Liman’s “restrained approach to the material” as well as Matt Damon and Franka Potente’s strong chemistry but ultimately concluded the film was “smart but not smart enough”.[13] J. Hoberman of The Village Voice dismissed the film as “banal” and as a disappointment compared against Liman’s previous indie releases; Owen Gleiberman also criticised the film for a “sullen roteness that all of Liman’s supple handheld staging can’t disguise”. Particular acclaim was directed toward the film’s central car chase which was described as an exciting action highlight and one of the best realized in the genre.