The Bourne Identity

Some film series are plagued by a seemingly unanswerable question -- which is better? "Alien" or "Aliens"? "I" or "II"? (That's referring to "The Godfather" in Sopranos-speak.) "Identity" or "Ultimatum"? After watching "Identity," I feel comfortable saying I have no idea which is the best entry in my series.

"Identity" is definitely more plot-driven, whereas "Ultimatum" relies on almost exclusively action sequences to propel the story forward. "Identity" also has the great Franka Potente as my love interest, Marie. She should be in more movies. This is also the finest work of director Doug Liman, whose interesting career trajectory took him from the slick "Swingers," to this shining example of early-21st Century new-fu action cinema, to the devastatingly terrible "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," a film so bad it should have put a nail in the coffin of everyone involved.

By "Ultimatum," I am a tightly wound revenge machine, similar to Jack Bauer in "24." In "Identity," though, I'm more like someone from the TV show "Heroes": an ordinary person with extraordinary capabilities. "Identity" dwells more on me learning of my powers and coming to grips with the person I was.

The most poignant moment in "Ultimatum" is when I tell the other agent at the end, "Look at us. Look at what they make you give." This line was originally spoken in "Identity" by Clive Owen's character, The Professor; spoken to me in the woods before The Professor dies. It's a nice theme to the whole series: the misuse of American power at the expense of people in furtherance of a questionable goal.