At the time, the original Bourne production starred three well-known actors, Richard Chamberlain (who was nominated for a Golden Globes for his performance and acted as the lead role in television's Dr. Kildare), Jaclyn Smith (original Charlie's Angels), Anthony Quayle (Oscar nominee) as well as Denholm Elliott (Indiana Jones). Time has not been kind to this television mini-series where its slow pacing, overly dramatic acting, and now with the opportunity to compare the series to the updated movie franchise starring Matt Damon reveals this television series as almost a parody and soap operatic version of the movie version. Chamberlain is loud and frantic and surprisingly not appealing as Damon's more subdued and authentic feeling along with his heightened smart and sharp assassin talents. There are only a few moments of quality movie production here, mostly in the second half of the series especially the intense dramatic scene between Chamberlain and Quayle. Perhaps at the time of its release the movie plot was exciting and new, but today it now seems old fashioned and melodramatic. The problem may have been with the director and writers of an old television mentality. Unlike the updated version, the musical score lagged and really did not contribute to or enhance the television production. The acting, especially the fight scenes felt artificial like old television westerns. With an intriguing potential to exploit the plot twists and relational turmoil, this television series never reached its potential and is probably only worth watching to compare with Matt Damon's performance and storyline.
Review of The Bourne Identity
