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The Bourne Supremacy
07/26/04
This is really turning out to be a great season for summer movies. There have been some bad ones, don't get me wrong. I'm still trying to forget Van Helsing and The Day After Tomorrow. But there have been a few surprisingly innovative and smart films this summer including Anchorman and Spider-Man 2. When I saw The Bourne Identity last year I was presently surprised. I didn't see Matt Damon as an action star, and that is one of the things that makes the original and the current sequel The Bourne Supremacy successful.
In the original film Jason Bourne (Damon) wakes on a fishing boat not remembering who he is or or where he's been. He slowly discovered that he was a secret agent, and a part of a super soldier program. And of course, those that created him wanted to destroy him. Utilizing weapons, guns and money he had left himself, and with the help of a young woman, Marie (Franka Potente) he thwarted their plans and escaped. At the end of the first film he told the few that remained alive to leave him alone and he'd leave them alone. Then he escaped with his new companion to start a new life.
The Bourne Supremacy picks up right where the original left off. Jason and Marie are still together in a far away land and Jason still doesn't remember much about who he is, or was. He is plagued with snippets of his past in his dreams and he still suffers from extreme headaches caused by his treatment as part of the super soldier program.
Then during a day of shopping he sees a man that doesn't fit with the surroundings, a man that is following him and eventually tries to kill him. "We're blown" he tells Marie, and an extensive car chase ensues. Soon Bourne learns that the government is after him again, accusing him of a theft and murder. He says to himself and Marie, "I told them to leave me alone". Marie tries to convince them that he doesn't have to fight, that they ca run, but he knows better. Instead of hiding he puts himself out there to be easily found. He even allows himself to be captured in order to discover who is after him and why.
There are many elements of this film that are standard thriller plot points but two things really make the film rise above its genre. The first is Damon. He chooses to play this character in an earthy human sort of way. The audience can identify with him because he looks more like an every man, not as suave as Pierce Brosnan as 007 and not as massive as Arnold in Eraser. He also brings a great deal of depth to the character. He is dark, he is a bit depressed as he goes through life fighting on instinct and built in training but not knowing who he is. The other thing that makes this film unique and great is the pacing and execution. The film moves at a steady pace not going so fast it sacrifices the story (xXx anybody? The Fast and the Furious?) but not bogging itself down in unnecessary subplots or unbelievable dialogue. Also the fight scenes and car chases are subdued by summer standards. The fights are adequately brutal and the car chases are adequately exhilarating, but neither makes the leap from thriller to fantasy the way nearly all summer movies do these days.
They don't make films like this anymore. Well I guess they do because this one's in theaters. What I mean is The Bourne Supremacy has a distinctively 70's spy movie feel such as Three Days of the Condor or The Conversation. Three Days of the Condor featured Robert Redford, not commonly who you'd think of as an action star taking a female hostage who ends up helping him. The Conversation featured Gene Hackman as an imperfect hero, someone who isn't exactly the Captain America of heroes much the same way as Bourne who was and is a professional assassin. The Bourne movies are paced in similar ways to the above mentioned 70's films in that they are as much if not more thrillers than action movies.
The only complaint I have is that the twist in The Bourne Supremacy is a bit to obvious. But unlike a Shyamalan film The Bourne Supremacy isn't about the twist, it's about Jason Bourne trying to survive. All of the "surviving" cast members from the first film make a comeback including Julia Styles playing a scared agent handler. I liked her in the first film because she wasn't what you'd expect in this type of role and she's even better in the sequel as she spends most of her scenes in fear of her life. Joan Allen is added as Bourne's nemesis and as usual she does a fine job.
If you liked the first film you'll love this one. The Bourne Supremacy may be the most well executed movie of its genre (excluding the original) to hit theaters in years.
9/10
-Stephen Lackey |
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The Bourne Supremacy
Directed: by Paul Greengrass
Starring: Matt Damon, Joan Allen
Review: 9/10
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