A man is found floating in the ocean, almost dead. He is revived and suffers from amnesia: he can't remember anything about who he is, but before long it becomes apparent that a lot of people want to kill him. But he's not completely at a disadvantage: as he quickly learns, he appears to have skills that ordinary people off the street do not.

From a simple gimmick of a plot premise stems an exciting action thriller. It's interesting how the main character represents two divergent character types that audiences find compelling: we like watching everyday people we can relate to, and we like watching heroic action figures who know everything you never knew there was to know about fighting and spying and staying alive. Bourne is both: consequently, we watch the events of the film through the same eyes; everything is to new us, just as it is new to him.

The movie loses some steam after Bourne figures out who he is and what he needs to do, but it reaches a fair conclusion nonetheless. I recommend this to lovers of espionage stories.