Movie Review: The Bourne Supremacy

Stars (Out of 10): 5

One Word Summary: Defective

Movie Details: Bourne Supremacy, The Suspense/Thriller | Adventure | Action | Mystery | Drama MPAA RATING PG-13 for violence and intense action, and brief language 120 minutes | Color USA WRITTEN BY Tony Gilroy Robert Ludlum (novel)   DIRECTED BY Paul Greengrass THEATRICAL RELEASE Jul 23, 2004   Relevant Sites: IMDB Official Movie Website Watch The Movie Trailers Shopping: Shop Amazon for items related to this movie. Shop for movie posters at AllPosters

"The Bourne Supremacy" Review:

In the sequel to 2002's The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, Matt Damon once again plays Jason Bourne, a former CIA assassin recovering from amnesia while trying to start a new life with his girlfriend Marie. After another assassin frames him for the murders of two CIA agents, Bourne must once again go on the run in order to survive.

To be blunt, there's nothing special about The Bourne Supremacy. It is generally uninteresting, and supremely unmemorable. It attempts to be intellectual, but the story just isn't that complicated. The plot is reasonable (in entertainment value, not in plausibility), but it's not complicated or hard to follow aside from the visual problems with the film.

This may sound silly or inarticulate, but The Bourne Supremacy is both too fast and too slow at the same time. Some scenes are so lacking in dialogue and comprehensible images that you can't help but fade off, and others jump, track, flash, and cut so quickly that it's too hard to grab a hold of anything. Grainy picture and a hand held camera are two visual weapons used in this film for no purpose; it's a crime thriller, no need to be artistic.

The Bourne Supremacy is like a film on a sugar high; most action sequences are composed of shots where the handheld camera quickly pans following the action, while the editing quickly jump cuts from character to character. Not only are characters incredibly difficult to follow in these scenes (did he just get shot or shoot someone?), but instead of making the film exciting it just makes it dreadfully boring.

Supremacy has moments that are as satisfying as the original; his relationship with the agency is interesting, but the side plot with the Russians is not. This movie's title promises superiority over the original, but it doesn't deliver. It tries to stay away from the regular suspense thriller formula, but wanders too far off the beaten path. The movie doesn't really have a bad guy, there's a Russian guy, but I couldn't remember his name let alone what connection he had to anything, there's Landy but she's just 'doing her job,' so she's excused from all blame. The trailer promises revenge against the CIA, but all he wants to be is left alone, there is no revenge.

          To point out more failures: the last 15 minutes is just an excuse for another sequel, who is the real 'bad guy' and his connection to anyone is too convoluted to be believable or surprising, and Bourne's inability to decide whether he wants to be vengeful or forgiving just makes his character seem like a fraud.

I will never imagine Matt Damon as an action star, he just doesn't fit into the cookie cutter action star profile (that's a compliment), but his performance in Bourne Supremacy is by no means unpersuasive. I'd much rather see him in a comedy or drama, but after bulking up again and delivering a good performance it looks like he's found a signature role in Jason Bourne. His supporting cast, Julia Styles, Joan Allen and Brian Cox also give classy and intelligent performances.

The Bottom Line is that The Bourne Supremacy is a below average suspense thriller. It has a good cast, but is so visually defective that it's too hard to watch. If you haven't seen the original… see it, and skip this one!