The rare sight of a sequel that actually just about lives up to the original

Rating: 7/10 (17 August 2009)

I haven't read the novel behind this, or any other book by Ludlum, I'm sorry to say. You've probably already heard about the hand-held camera... yes, it's pretty much constant in this, even in quiet portions of it, and yes, it can be headache-inducing and straining. The worst is when it makes it downright difficult to make out what exactly is going on. I get that Paul was going for a documentary-feeling, and trying to make it seem true to life, but dialing it back a tad might have been better. The plot goes beyond what the first one did, and it requires a little more of the audience to follow. In general, this tends to race, without always slowing down to let the viewer catch up. The pace is fast, though not necessarily excessive. This supplements the story of Identity well. The new additions are all good. Every acting performance is spot-on. The characters are well-written, credible and consistent. Dialog is sharp and well-delivered. The action is bigger, the sequences longer and they get messier and less "controlled", without abandoning the special training of Bourne. It's made clear early on that this will be unpredictable and relentless. This is darker than the 2002 film. The score is excellent, again. This takes us to several locations around the world, like Liman's effort. I do prefer his take on the titular icon to Greengrass', though they both have a lot going for their respective versions. This has some bloody violence and brief strong language. The DVD comes with deleted scenes sans explanation to them, nine concise featurettes, four trailers and a Director's Commentary track that is very worth listening through, highly informative and gets into a nice amount of subjects. I recommend this to fans of those who were involved in making it, realistic spy thrillers and/or the franchise. 7/10