The Bourne Identity (2002), directed by Doug Liman. Streaming at home, Tuesday, May 23.

Why would we watch The Bourne Identity? Three reasons: we were bored and wanted some fun action, my brother John said that it really held up, and it was directed by Doug Liman, who made the totally awesome Edge of Tomorrow, that one with Tom Cruise dying over-and-over (it’s really great). Bourne was fun, and I was so surprised at how old it was–the internet was in its infancy, no real cellphones to speak of, people find out information from newspapers. The film suffers because the plot, the maguffin, is just ludicrously dull. I mean, I can barely even remember it, but it’s really complicated and banal and actually requires explanation, which is just plain bad. But it succeeds in its cool action, its actors (Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Chris Cooper, Clive Owen and Brian Cox), its locales, from warm to cold to warm to cold (islands and Berlin and Greece, it’s so damn continental) and from all of the small moments, most notably Clive Owen’s death scene in a field. Every home and locale looks lived or worked in. It’s tough that Liman made this and Edge of Tomorrow and what looks like nothing else worth visiting, because those are two damn fine action films on which to hang your career.