Everyone is the sum of his or her experiences in life. While some are happy or at least satisfied with their past, present and thoughts of the future, others are troubled or haunted by some or all of those temporal periods. One such person is Jason Bourne.
When we last saw him in "The Bourne Identity" back in 2002, he just discovered that he had a secret -- and I mean top secret -- past that involved him and the highest levels of covert government doings. As he attempted to uncover and learn more about his past, he also had to fight for his life with various parties that wanted him dead.
The result -- based on the Robert Ludlum character and novel -- was a fairly engaging and entertaining entry in the spy-action genre. Now, two years later in "The Bourne Supremacy," the character has tried to get on with his life and relationship with the woman he met in the first film. Yet, recurring and haunting nightmares and visions, along with the arrival of a deadly assassin put him back on the run for his life and the truth about his past.
As written by Tony Gilroy ("The Bourne Identity," "Proof of Life") -- who's used Ludlum's 1986 novel as his jumping off point -- the film, like many a sequel, picks up where the original left off and recycles much of the tone, theme and characters (save for those who didn't survive) that made the first a success.
Like its predecessor, the offering is an adult-based international thriller-cum-action flick. But you better have your Dramamine ready -- especially if you end up sitting anywhere close to the screen -- as Paul Greengrass takes a seat in the directing chair (replacing Doug Liman from the first go round) and proceeds to shoot the film as if at sea during a speed editing class in rough weather.
While that filmmaking/shooting style worked well in "Bloody Sunday" as it captured the you are there intensity of the true story of the 1970s era, Irish civil rights march, the result is less successful and certainly not needed here. One assumes he's gone the jumpy handheld and ultra-edited route to make us feel Bourne's confused state and it's not a bad tactic, at least in theory.
In execution, however, having the camera bob, weave, zip and otherwise move around amidst hundreds if not thousands of edits will likely drive a cinematic wedge between the offering and certain viewers. Although it also gives the action an undeniable urgency, intensity and realism, I think Greengrass could have cut back on it a bit and still achieved the desired result without certain parts of the audience using their empty bags of popcorn for something other than holding their old maids.
Although it tries to be complicated -- and sounds that way at times -- the plot is actually rather straightforward and not terribly complex. In short, Bourne finds himself the target once again and then goes on the run around Europe, dispatching those who get in his way or who are after him with sudden and impulsive ferocity.
As was the case the first time around, the subsequent action, stunts and fight scenes are rather brutal and immediate, rather than the usual overblown and unbelievable tripe Hollywood often asks us to believe. And making it all work just like he did last time is Matt Damon ("Ocean's Eleven," "Stuck on You").
Rather than most of the action stars of yesteryear and today, he's quite believable in the role and makes you buy into what is troubling his character rather than feeling that it's just some screenwriting construct thrown in to create faux depth and/or kill some time. There isn't a tremendous amount of range or growth built into the character, but Damon makes it work and that clearly helps the film.
His immediate nemesis this time around is embodied by Joan Allen ("The Notebook," "The Contender") who plays an FBI deputy director who's none too happy thinking that Bourne has killed two of her agents. He hasn't, of course, but that fuels her character and she's fine in the role, even if it similarly lacks much depth or exploration (compared to say, Jodie Foster's character in "The Silence of the Lambs").
Brian Cox ("Troy," "X2") and Julia Stiles ("The Prince & Me," "Mona Lisa Smile") reprise their roles, but only have a limited amount of time to try to do anything with their characters (which is particularly true for Stiles). Frank Potente ("Blow," "Run Lola Run") isn't around long enough to make much of a difference, while Karl Urban ("The Chronicles of Riddick," the "Lord of the Rings" films) gets to play the near emotionless, competing assassin.
Thanks to Damon's presence and performance, as well as some decently staged and executed fight and action sequences, the film is fairly entertaining to behold if you're into those sorts of things. The lack of any plot depth, coupled with the motion sickness inducing visual look, lack of novelty and far too many edits, however, means that the film isn't as good as the first time around. "The Bourne Supremacy" rates as a 5 out of 10.
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