The Bourne Supremacy Review
by Ryan Ellis (flickershows AT hotmail DOT com)August 2nd, 2004
The Bourne Supremacy
reviewed by Ryan Ellis
July 29, 2004
spoiler in paragraph #4
My Tagline---Bourne gets tougher...and better
A profitable showing in theatres and a booming success on DVD guaranteed that 'The Bourne Identity' would catch the sequel bug and give us another round of Jason Bourne. While many of the major players from the first picture aren't major players in this new one (including the director), at least we've still got Matt Damon in the title role. He was the assassin with amnesia, an undercover CIA operative found bullet-riddled and floating in the drink with no memory of how he got there. With the help of a good woman, Marie (Franka Potente), he was able to draw on instinct and outfox those who tried to knock him off. Jason & Marie lived happily ever after, which in movie terms lasts about 2 years.
That's a recap of the gritty '02 action-adventure picture directed by Doug Liman. Now Paul Greengrass wears the director's ballcap for 'The Bourne Supremacy' while Liman stayed on for an exec producer credit. Greengrass ('Bloody Sunday') doesn't veer this franchise into all sorts of bizarre places. It's still a straight-ahead espionage thriller with minimal computer FX and first-rate editing. A lot happens and it happens quickly, but the Richard Pearson/Christopher Rouse cutting finds the comfort zone between expediency and Michael Bay. They've managed to expertly assemble the pieces of this rapid-fire globetrotter; no easy task considering it's exactly that "we're here, we're there, and I just don't care anymore" ping-ponging that makes me tune out most of the 007 pictures.
The longer this movie played, the more I settled down into my comfy seat and enjoyed it. And I will say this with confidence---Jason Bourne is the new James Bond. The last few 007 escapades have been spotty at best, dull and full of retreadery at worst. But the Bourne series (adapted from Robert Ludlum's novels) seems to be picking up speed. While the first movie was not one of my 2002 faves, this sequel deepens what came before and makes me want to give Part One a second chance. Regardless, the 'Fugitive'-esque 'Bourne Supremacy' stands on its own as one of the best pictures so far in 2004.
Bourne's memory is still foggy, and it's a wise move to keep him guessing. We already know how dangerous a killing machine he can be. It's a reflex to escape tight spots by any means necessary, even though he's almost always devastated by the results. He sees a corpse he's created and he visibly sinks. But what about Marie? Didn't she reform him and give him something to live for, some kind of refuge from his prior destiny as a hitman? Indeed, but shadowy forces are gunning for him (for a few reasons, which are best revealed by the movie itself) and these killers make a convincing argument. Potente doesn't last past the first reel when a bullet and a car crash off a bridge send her drifting away into murky water. It's a beautiful shot, but Bourne's no-longer-beautiful heart might as well float away with her.
Now he's pissed. The movie doesn't have much of a sense of humour, but it isn't all sadistic violence either. Trying to keep such a damaged character from becoming just another capeless Batman isn't easy. I suppose screenwriter Tony Gilroy is largely responsible for successfully riding that vigilante wave by keeping emotions out of it. That the actors are often inhuman is what gives the movie its meaning. These are not the kind of people who spend much time agonizing over spilt blood. Bourne deliberately "pops up on the grid" and tries to find out who's to blame for sending him his wake-up call. He's the best agent they've ever trained (the guy can make a weapon out of a folded magazine!), so it's not at all unrealistic that he could manage to stay out of CIA clutches for so long.
Joan Allen plays Pamela Landy, the chilly head of an operation where 2 men have been killed. We know Bourne had nothing to do with it, but she has evidence that he did. Who's framing him? The A Team theme (murder suspects who didn't do it) is one of the least interesting parts of this movie. It's no big surprise when a returning character from the first film sticks a shiv into one of the white-hatted CIA guys. His motivation even makes sense, from a cynical and twisted point of view. Luckily, the movie isn't just about plot turns or who's the real villain, though. Being a little bit ahead of the story didn't bother me because nothing is drawn out unnecessarily. The characters are all whip-smart and they only explain as much as they have to.
Besides Damon and Allen, Brian Cox and Julia Stiles play key roles. Both were in 'The Bourne Identity' and they're not just here to wave a hello & then go home with a paycheque. Cox is one of the uncrowned kings of autocratic menace. Stiles' role is small, but she's integral partly because she's one of the only CIAers Bourne knows from the first encounter. The other great character in the flick would be the scenery. The action goes to Germany, Russia, India, some American locations, and I forget where else. Cinematographer Oliver Wood shoots everything as understated as he should, not letting a fancy-dancey camera interfere with the development of the story.
As talked-about as the fight scenes in these movies have been, they could have been even better than they are in 'The Bourne Supremacy'. Greengrass shoots everything so tight that he renders what could be breathtaking into something that is merely tense. He uses a handheld camera too often and doesn't let us get a good look at just how lethally quick Bourne is. Then again, I applaud his choice in resisting the urge to explain every detail in voiceover or to telegraph more than necessary. You KNOW Bourne is going to get in & out of danger and will survive at least until the climax, so it takes a steady hand to rivet an audience. One of the reasons I can only take 007 in small doses is because it's the same thing every time and there is NO WAY Jimmy B is gonna get smoked...ever. The way THIS J.B. drives cars, he won't live forever.
Things are left open for a third movie, which I eagerly await. Matt Damon doesn't have very many movie characters he can call his own. Until this amnesiac assassin story landed on his coffee table, it was Will Hunting and not much else. As good an actor as Damon can be, risky choices have resulted in starring parts in flimsy pictures or supporting parts that saw him get lost him in the shuffle. Now he and Tom Cruise (Mr. 'Mission: Impossible') can duke it out with Bond for the espionage audience. Unlike those other series, Bourne is just getting good.
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