A Look Back at The Bourne Supremacy

Copyright 2004, Universal Pictures

It's been a couple of months since I took a look back at the beginning of the successful film series about ex-government killer Jason Bourne. Finally, I've gotten a chance to catch up with 2004's The Bourne Supremacy, a film that I saw twice in the theaters. The second time, I fell asleep. Granted, the first time I saw the Paul Greengrass-helmed actioner, I was in one of the front rows and couldn't handle the shaky camerawork that's a staple of Greengrass's style. The second time, though, I ended up seeing the film because my friends wanted to see it. I was just out of luck.

Now, having seen it a third time, not in a front row, not tired, I can say wholeheartedly that Bourne Supremacy is not a movie worth falling asleep during, nor is it a great film. I'll say this: it's better in various ways than its 2002 predecessor, The Bourne Identity. The script, by Tony Gilroy, is relatively sharp, moreso than the original. Here, Bourne faces off against two groups: the CIA, led by Pamela Landy (Joan Allen, smart and savvy); and an assassin (Karl Urban) hired by a mysterious Russian man with ties to the Americans. When Bourne's girlfriend (Franka Potente) is murdered during a chase in India, Bourne swears revenge against those who just will not leave him alone.

Having Greengrass as the man behind the camera as opposed to Doug Liman (who's a solid director, but doesn't have any kind of intriguing or unique style) helps enormously as does the handheld cinematography, which is not nearly as uncomfortable when you're in the comfort of your own living room. What's more, Gilroy creates a smart adversary in Pamela Landy, a woman whose methodical, nearly robotic nature end up getting her in more trouble with people not named Jason Bourne. Only once does her dialogue really ring false--in a montage sequence where she tries to give a pep...well, a pep yell rather than a pep talk and Greengrass poorly sets up the idea that this pep yell isn't happening over a minute or two, but that she's been doing this for hours or something. Aside from that, Landy's a smart character, even when butting heads with Ward Abbott (Brian Cox, weaselly as ever).

I liked The Bourne Supremacy. I guess I'm still not sure why everyone goes crazy about the Bourne series of films, but then again, I've yet to see the 2007 threequel. The action is fast, Damon is appropriately taciturn, but maybe it's that flaw that distances me from the films. Bourne isn't meant to be an emotional or explanatory guy, but it's hard to empathize with someone who says no more than a few sentences throughout an entire film. That said, I do like the series now more than I did originally. Maybe The Bourne Ultimatum, the follow-up to Supremacy, is the best of all. Still, I get the feeling that Greengrass, for all his flashy work, is best suited to real-life films such as Bloody Sunday and United 93, movies that evoke more emotion and are more visceral for being so true.