The Bourne Supremacy Review
by Susan Granger (ssg722 AT aol DOT com)July 23rd, 2004
Susan Granger's review of "The Bourne Supremacy" (Universal)
Two years ago, "The Bourne Identity" introduced Jason Bourne (Matt Damon), a trained CIA contract killer who has amnesia when he's pulled out of the sea. While attempting to recover his memory and adjust to a new life, he must not only evade malevolent operatives from his former life but also protect his relationship with Marie (Franka Potente) who has befriended him.
After a somewhat confusing set-up, particularly if you're not familiar with the characters, Jason and Marie are being chased through the streets of Goa, India, by a killer (Karl Urban). Meanwhile, the CIA is coping with a botched Berlin assignment which CIA watchdog Pamela Landy (Joan Allen) links with Jason, who finds his to way to Naples, then Munich and Berlin. From a CIA field agent (Julia Stiles), he discovers that he's been framed and eludes various hit-men. Eventually, the deadly spy game travels by train to Moscow, where much of the action takes place, along with a terrific car chase, and the groundwork is laid for a third installment.
Based on Robert Ludlum's best-seller, adapted by Tony Gilroy (co-screenwriter on "The Bourne Identity") and helmed by British director Paul Greengrass ("Bloody Sunday"), the enigmatic character-driven story evolves into another high-stakes, globe-trotting, post-Cold War action-adventure that, this time, has the subtext of a rogue assassin's journey of atonement.
Matt Damon infuses Jason Bourne with a deep sadness, along with justifiable paranoia, and he's suitably surrounded by stalwart supporting players. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "The Bourne Supremacy" is a tension-filled, fast-paced 6, with the shaky, hand-held camera-work and quick-cut editing presumably geared to spur on a feeling of relentless urgency.
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