a solid action movie, if not precisely as memorable as the first film

Rating: 7/10 (17 July 2007)

As much as I'm anticipating the third 'Bourne' film to come out into theaters, and as much as I'm not all aboard Paul Greengrass's style of film-making (mostly in due to United 93), The Bourne Supremacy works best as an adaptation of a book that, ironically enough considering the director, is good to bring along on an airplane ride. It's efficient and keen in how it observes the characters having tense talks on the phones (Joan Allen makes that work much better than expected, maybe the one improvement over the first film, as great as Cooper can be), and pretty well acted by its supporting players (one of the best scenes involves Julia Stiles, who was hinted at in the first film, who gets an emotional scene in a tunnel with Damon pointing a gun at her head), and it's even got one of the best car chase/smash-em-ups in the new millennium (the chase sometimes pops into mind when I'm in a tense traffic situation).
But somehow it's nothing too groundbreaking, which maybe makes it just good and maybe just slightly unsatisfying for its potential. Not that the Bourne Supremacy needs to be a bold artistic achievement in the realm of international espionage thrillers. However if one feels that something it's lacking- and it's not quite because of the shaky camera-work, though I can understand how it can be seen as a negative- it's not to be unexpected. There's not the same suspense in the (anti?) hero's dilemma of identity, and so it mostly amounts to high-tech cat and mouse theatrics and a whole lot of attitude to go along with the potential of danger at every turn. It's not a film that I disliked in the slightest, and I might watch it late at night if it should strike my fancy. But as far as big smashing summer blockbusters go, it could be better.