The Bourne Supremacy

Starring: Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Brian Cox, Julia Stiles, Karl Uraban, Gabriel Mann, and Joan Allen

Written by: Tony Gilroy and Brian Hegeland based on the novel by Robert Ludlum

Directed by: Paul Greengrass

With sequels to big successful action movies, the adage is to make everything bigger, better, and more exciting.  And usually sequels stumble trying to do just that, and end up forgetting what it was that everyone liked about the original in the first place.

So how does Bourne Supremacy do in that vein?

It tries to make everything bigger, better, and more exciting and actually succeeds on some fronts.  There are some stumbling blocks in the effort but I’ve seen much worse efforts.

I will preface this by saying I have never read the books, so if there are differences or similarities I wouldn’t know.  But one thing Supremacy does is make connections with identity, but does not stagnate.  It builds logically from the original.  Abbott is still trying to cover all tracks, especially with regards to the Treadstone project which spawned Bourne.  Bourne is living in India with Marie.

The beginning may put some people off, as while it is a cool action sequence, it is somewhat confusing.  The camera work is not as sharp as it was in Identity making the action sequences not as compelling.  While it is a literary choice to open the story in such a way can be a way of drawing the viewer in, it made me impatient.

Pamela Landy is heading a team looking to make a deal for files on a political assassination of a Russian politician.  After an assassination by Eomer, and a frame-job, we find Jason in India, still struggling to piece everything together.  Soon after, he sees Eomer and knows he’s out of place.  Making the proper assumption, Bourne knows he has to get out of there.  He grabs Marie and runs, but after a mini-car chase, Marie is shot and killed and Bourne is left for dead.

As always, big mistake.

Landy’s team finds the framed print and after extensive searches and requests for security clearance on the Treadstone Project, discovers that it’s Bourne’s print.

In an ingenious plan, Bourne purposefully uses his own passport so he’ll be detained.  Using a flunkie he is able to pinpoint Landy’s cel number and track her down, then he escapes.

After a game of cat and mouse, for quite awhile, Jason is able to create a meeting between him and Nicky, the woman who helped Conklin out in Paris during Identity.  It is here that he spouts off his innocence causing Landy to hesistate a bit.  Abbott continues to push the killing Bourne agenda.

Danny Zorn, an Abbott associate, makes his own discovery as he puts two and two together realizing that Bourne has been framed.  He talks to Abbott about it, before presenting it to Landy and unfortunately for Danny, this is how Abbott chooses to reveal that he is part of the conspiracy.

I have to admit this isn’t a shocking discovery.  We all know he wanted Bourne eliminated previously.  So it didn’t take a genius to put two and two together.

The whole film’s major plot is supported by Bourne’s self discovery.  We learn that Bourne is the one who actually assassinated Neski all those years ago and he needs to find out why.

Of course Bourne figures everything out and gets Abbott to confess while he records it.  It’s too much for Abbott who kills himself rather than go down, and Landy gets the tape.

Bourne goes to Russia for unfinished business and Eomer gets on his trail again, but a typical Bourne car chase ends rather abruptly for Eomer.  The car chase is not quite up to Identity’s in my mind, but it’s still pretty fun to watch.

Bourne meets with Neski’s daughter and explains to her what happened to her parents, offering his apologies.

The last sequence is kind of a throwaway but intriguing as Landy thanks Bourne for his help and tells him that his real name is David Webb.

All in all, it’s a fun ride, worthy of being a sequel to Identity and if it concentrated a little less on bigger and better, and more on continuing the story, it could have been the equal to the original.  That being said, there are far far worse ways to spend an evening with your DVD player.

B-