Bourne betrayed by the camera ...

Rating: 6/10 (4 September 2004)

I was one of the many that immensely enjoyed the first Bourne and had been expecting to see this one for months.
One of the things that made the first one so successful was the obvious pleasure the director had to shoot in all these nice locations in Europe. Although the locations are still quite exciting, the splendid cinematography has been replaced by a grim and dull photography.
The major low point of the movie though is the shooting of the actions scenes, and there are many. The use of the hand-held camera and excessive close ups is used to the point of nauseating the audience. There is no way you want to watch a fight or car chase like that again. Too bad for the cast - especially Matt Damon and Joan Allen - who give an impressive performance. The music is also good and helps keep a rhythm and interest, although the story line and character development are quite thin compared to the original.
Overall quite a disappointment. Doug Liman please come back for the Bourne ultimatum ...