The Bourne Supremacy

UK Release Date. 13 August 2004
Certification. 12A
Running Time. 1 hour 48 mins
Director. Paul Greengrass
Cast. Joan Allen, Brian Cox, Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Julia Stiles, Karl Urban.
Rating. 80%

Review.

The Bourne Supremacy is perhaps the most straightforward of the original Jason Bourne trilogy. This isn't to say this is a weakness; in fact, in many ways, The Bourne Supremacy could be considered the strongest of the three. For The Bourne Supremacy isn't preoccupied with establishing the principal characters and plot, nor is it concerned with a neat conclusion. This gives The Bourne Supremacy a freedom the other two films lack.

The Bourne Supremacy picks up two years after the events of The Bourne Identity (with a new director behind the lens, Paul Greengrass). Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) and Marie (Franka Potente) are living off the grid in Goa, India. Jason is plagued by nightmares - flashbacks, brief glimpses of his past, but little that is tangible. He still knows nothing about his life prior to the events of The Bourne Identity.

Fresh from the highly acclaimed Bloody Sunday, Paul Greengrass's direction is the defining characteristic of The Bourne Supremacy. Greengrass employs rapid-fire editing and in-your-face handheld cameras to keep the audience in the midst of the frantic action. Standout set pieces include the emotionally charged sequence in Berlin and a phenomenal car chase through the streets of Moscow. Intelligent direction results in a studio production with an independent sensibility, much like The Bourne Identity. 

Matt Damon's astute, underplayed performance - he does a lot with very little - ensures Bourne is cold yet not emotionless, lethal yet not invincible - a very human hero, haunted by emotional and physical trauma. Added to the cast is Joan Allen as CIA Deputy Director Pamela Landy, bringing an air of gravitas to a role that could easily have been a one-dimensional plot device, and an almost unrecognisable Karl Urban as Kirill, a Russian assassin who offers perhaps the series’ most formidable counterpoint to Jason Bourne.

The Bourne Supremacy builds on The Bourne Identity, resulting in one of the finest action thrillers of the 2000s. Intense, emotionally layered and brimming with invention.