The Bourne Supremacy

I quite enjoyed The Bourne Identity when I first watched it, and so I decided that buying the next two films would be a worthwhile investment. Having now watched The Bourne Supremacy I can say that it was a good buy. It follows on from The Bourne Identity, and yet feels like a much more modern and gritty film, which is to its benefit.

Following the death of Marie (the girl who helped Bourne in the first film), Jason Bourne seeks revenge and tries to follow a trail from his past which leads him to the death of a diplomat and his wife in Berlin. In much the same way as The Bourne Identity, the plot unfolds in a very engaging way and has intricate little twists and turns to keep you interested. With a couple of exciting car chases thrown into the mix as well, The Bourne Supremacy is a very entertaining action movie.

However you do have to keep your eyes trained to the screen. The first time I saw The Bourne Supremacy, I made the mistake of trying to dip in and out of it. This didn’t really go very well for me. There’s quite a lot going on and so I would advise making sure that you know what is going on most of the time. There are several plots within the main plot and quite a few characters to keep track of, so it is quite advantageous to know who is who and what is going on.

Matt Damon reprises his role as Jason Bourne from the first film, and is every bit as well cast as before. The character of Bourne appears to perfectly suit Matt Damon and he does as well in this film as he did in the previous film. While I don’t think Jason Bourne will ever be as iconic as, say, James Bond, Matt Damon’s performance in both The Bourne Identity and Supremacy have ensured that the Bourne films are a modern action favourite.

While Matt Damon is very impressive in The Bourne Supremacy, the supporting cast is fairly anonymous. This makes it rather difficult to follow who is who and it is quite easy to get lost. Despite being rather critical of her in my review of Identity, it was good to see Franka Potente back as Marie, albeit briefly. A couple more flashbacks would have made it easier for me to remember who Ward Abbott (Brian Cox), but this was not a major problem. I did like Karl Urban as Kirill and was quite surprised to learn when researching this post that he played Eomer in The Lord of the Rings. In The Bourne Supremacy he is quite a background villain, and is as memorable as the secondary villain in many of the James Bond films. However, he is very good in his role and the character he plays is a fitting target for Bourne’s revenge. I particularly liked Joan Allen as Pamela Landy and thought that she was quite dislikable early on as she played the typical American intelligence officer who is seeking her target. However, throughout the film she becomes slightly more likable for me. By the end of the film I was quite sympathetic with her, and looked forward to the next installment to see how her relationship with Bourne played out.

There’s not much that marks out The Bourne Supremacy as an incredible film. It is a suitable follow up to The Bourne Identity and nicely sets up The Bourne Ultimatum. It is a modern action film that fits the mould perfectly. It isn’t necessary to have seen the first film in order to understand the second, but it can’t hurt to get a bit of background can it? Overall, it is probably one to watch, but I don’t think it is essential.