The Top 100 Project

Doug Liman wasn't the obvious person to direct The Bourne Identity and Matt Damon was an even less-obvious choice to play an assassin with a brutal case of amnesia, but their underdog thriller kicked off what became a beloved franchise. The incredible action scenes got even more kinetic in the sequels and the post-9/11 political subtext was more a factor in those ones too, so this first Bourne stands out for being a fairly-quiet action film for people don't usually like that sort of thing. It's also funny to think that during this same year, there was yet another in a series where a handsome, government-trained killer goes by the initials "JB". 007 had been making a mint on the big screen for decades, but along came Jason Bourne to one-up James Bond. However, none of that would mean very much if not for the soulful work of Franka Potente, who's one of the best co-stars Damon has ever had. So buckle up as the 468th Ellises' Analysis zips you expertly around the streets of Paris and tries hard not to forget wha