Italian fishermen pull an unconscious man from the Mediterranean. He has two bullet wounds in his back, a laser projector implant containing a Swiss bank account number, and complete psychogenic amnesia.
He travels to Zürich to investigate his past.
The safe deposit box in Switzerland contains stacks of cash in international currencies, a gun, and multiple passports all featuring his photo but using different aliases – including Jason Bourne.
He assumes that name and discovers he possesses lethal instincts, masterful hand-to-hand combat skills, and fluency in multiple languages.
Bourne is shortly forced into a deadly game of survival when he realises he is being actively hunted by the CIA.
His pursuit is orchestrated from Langley by a highly classified, black-ops CIA program called ‘Operation Treadstone’, managed by Alexander Conklin (Chris Cooper) and Ward Abbott (Brian Cox).
Bourne had been their elite, brainwashed assassin but had gone missing after failing in his mission to assassinate exiled African dictator Nykwana Wombosi (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje).
To cover their tracks and eliminate their asset, Treadstone dispatches rival elite operatives, including Castel (Nicky Naudé), Manheim (Russell Levy), and “The Professor” (Clive Owen)
Desperate to get to Paris to investigate his home address, Bourne offers a nomadic German woman named Marie Kreutz (Franka Potente) $20,000 to drive him there in her battered Mini Cooper, leading to a high-speed, chaotic car chase through the streets of Paris.
The couple hide out at a remote country home in France belonging to Marie’s friend, Eamon (Tim Dutton), and his children. The Professor discovers them and reveals the truth about Bourne’s past before dying.
Bourne forces a reluctant Marie to flee with Eamon and his children for their safety, leaving him to face the CIA alone.
When he finally confronts Conklin, Bourne suffers a massive flashback and remembers that during the Wombosi mission, he chose not to pull the trigger because Wombosi’s children were sleeping next to him.
Ward Abbott decides Treadstone is too high a risk and orders Manheim to assassinate Conklin to erase all history. He then lies to a congressional oversight committee, claiming Treadstone never existed, while pivoting to a new program called “Blackbriar.”
Sometime later, a peaceful Jason tracks Marie down in Mykonos, Greece, where she runs a scooter rental shop. The two reunite on the coast, free from his past.
The film – based on Robert Ludlum’s 1980 novel of the same name – was both a critical and commercial hit, grossing over $214 million worldwide on a $60 million budget.
Its success spawned two further parts of the trilogy – The Bourne Supremacy (2004) and The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) – which were directed by Paul Greengrass and introduced the franchise’s signature “shaky cam” cinematographic style.
Jason Bourne
Matt Damon Marie Kreutz
Franka Potente Alexander Conklin
Chris Cooper The Professor
Clive Owen Ward Abbott
Brian Cox Nykwana Wombosi
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje Zorn
Gabriel Mann Nicolette
Julia Stiles Giancarlo
Orso Maria Guerrini Eamon
Tim Dutton Picot
Denis Braccini Castel
Nicky Naudé Marshall
David Selburg Manheim
Russell Levy Security Chief
Anthony Green Deauvage
Gwenaël Clause Rawlins
Vincent Franklin Apfel
Roger Frost Deputy DCM
David Gasman Alain
Harry Gilbert Davies
William Cagnard Claudia
Katie Thynne Salvi
Alain Grellier
Director
Doug Liman
Video
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The safe deposit box in Switzerland contains stacks of cash in international currencies, a gun, and multiple passports all featuring his photo but using different aliases – including Jason Bourne.
Bourne had been their elite, brainwashed assassin but had gone missing after failing in his mission to assassinate exiled African dictator Nykwana Wombosi (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje).
Ward Abbott decides Treadstone is too high a risk and orders Manheim to assassinate Conklin to erase all history. He then lies to a congressional oversight committee, claiming Treadstone never existed, while pivoting to a new program called “Blackbriar.”
