The Bourne Supremacy (2004)

Director: Paul Greengrass
Starring: Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Brian Cox, Julia Stiles, Joan Allen

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I should begin by saying the I had very high expectations when I walked into this film. My man Nick loved it. I'd heard that it was actually quite good for a sequel from other sources. Perhaps it was these elevated expectations combined with my lack of sleep the previous night, but I didn't care for the film all that much. The plot felt superfluous, filler to pad the action set-pieces. The twists in what plot there was were easily predictable, and the hand-held "edgy" style to the photography was excessive well beyond the point of obnoxiousness.

Yeah, the acting was decent. Yeah, the action set-pieces were really incredible. On the other hand, I couldn't figure out why I should be watching the film and why I should care about Jason Bourne this time around. Besides the action and the acting, everything else was phoned in. The Bourne Supremacy uses the old standby revenge plotline where the bad guys are killed in order from least threatening to most, each death getting progressively more elaborate. It's not anything new, and the director doesn't ratchet up the tension enough even to make the final kill of the big baddie satisfying.

Unfortunately, The Bourne Supremacy isn't a rental. It's a film that's made for the big screen and should be seen accordingly. If you have any desire to go see the film, try to find the cheapest theater possible.

August 21
Beverly Theater, early afternoon

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