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 I'll be completely honest; I had no idea whatsoever that 'The Bourne Identity' was adapted from a Robert Ludlum book. I genuinely thought that someone in Universal Studios had come up with the idea and got incredibly lucky. I hereby apologise to Ludlum because the book is a very different experience to the film. The basic plot is the same; man has no memeory after being found in the sea, realises he's a CIA experiment, kicks a lot of ass to find the full truth. That is where the similarities end, the book is a lot deeper and paints Bourne as a driven to the edge.

 After reading the book and comparing it to the film, it's clear that the film had to make some concessions with the story, but made it far simpler. The film gives us fight scenes seperated with certain personal revelations. Also, the CIA program, Treadstone, is made out to be a rogue group within Langley going far beyond their powers to get things done. Fair enough, this was probably the best way the producers could've gone as it doesn't bore the audience with conspiracy theories, but is still intelligent enough to out shine other spy films like 'Mission Impossible'.

 The book, conversly, goes much further. Treadstone is not really the CIA, but an organisation made up of the most powerful and influencial men in America who can control the Military, the Police and even the Government. They create Bourne to combat an assassin, Carlos the Jackal, and spend most of the book trying to hunt both down in order to cover their tracks. Bourne is a tragic hero in every sense. All these self-discoveries, the fact he is a trained killer, that the only identity he knows is a lie, his enemies and their true intentions, are given more emphasis that the fight scenes, turning it into more of a noir thriller than an action story.

 His relationship with Marie is also given more depth. When they first meet, he only uses her as a human shield to escape an attempt on his life. However, as he goes deeper into his own past, she becomes his only chance of a normal life. She is there at most of the pivitol moments of the story including his first kill in the book. She is there all the way making her more of a character than a sidekick. The one thing that let's the book down is that Ludlum, at points, seemed to be using the Thomas Hardy method of writing, i.e. using pages to descibe a minute of action. It doesn't ruin the book, but can make some sections drag on a bit.

 In the end, this is another example of a film being well and truly beaten by its' source material. This book is essential for anyone who loved the films, but wished there had been more to it and that it had been explained in greater detail. The good news is that the two sequels, "Supremacy" and "Ultimatum", plus five new contributions form author Eric Van Lustbader are aslo available in book form and are equally brilliant.

Tom Vaughan