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The
Bourne Supremacy
Combining
fast-paced action with an interesting, efficient plot, The
Bourne Identity was a sleeper hit of 2002. Though not
a huge hit at the box office, it was definitely a quality
movie worthy of renting on DVD, and hey, Robert Ludlum wrote
a whole series of books with Bourne in the title.
Matt
Damon reprises his role as the secret agent with the Swiss
cheese memory in The Bourne Supremacy. This time
instead of complete amnesia, Bourne simply can't remember
details about a mission that haunts his dreams. He and Maria
(Franka Potente) are living out of sight from the CIA, but
not a different organization that frames Bourne for a crime
and then tries to kill him to tie up loose ends. Once again
Bourne must use his training as a lean, mean, super spying
machine to piece together his frame up as well as dodging
Russian and American intelligence agencies.
The
plot holds together nicely, mostly because it follows the
same formula that worked in the first film. The audience
follows Bourne around putting together the pieces he discovers
as he does. The plot offers no great twists but does get
from point A to B very effectively. The only drawback to
the straightforward plot is that everyone watching the movie
will figure out who the bad guy really is long before the
movie reveals him.
Matt
Damon doesn't have much acting to do other than look really
intense and occasionally slap the crap out of an assassin.
There is a tender moment or two in the film but they pass
quickly enough that no one will be nominating Damon for
an Oscar.
Potente,
Julia Styles and Brian Cox all reprise the roles they had
in the first film. Styles is severely shortchanged in the
screentime department as her role consists mostly of an
extended cameo. Brian Cox makes the most of his role with
a few great lines but the script ultimately isn't as strong
as his performance.
Brian
Cox fans will just have to cherish Troy
this year and wait till next year for more.
Joan
Allen joins the cast as Pamela Landy, the head of the CIA
team assigned to take Jason Bourne down. Like Brian Cox,
she's given little to do emotion wise and mostly just has
to bark orders to subordinates.
The
film's greatest weakness, however, isn't the script, but
rather the directing. Even a weak script can be overcome
if the director is able to properly display the action scenes,
which, let's face it, is why most people will go to see
the movie.
Director
Paul Greengrass isn't as capable as Identity director
Doug Liman was at pulling the camera back to give the audience
some perspective. Most of the time you'll know something
cool just happened on the screen by the way the characters
are reacting but you will be left to fill in the blanks
as to what that blurry thing you just saw was.
The
Bourne Identity was worth seeing in the theaters but
most folks waited for the DVD. The Bourne Supremacy
isn't as good as the first film but is still worth checking
out as a rental or on cable.
Rating:
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