Bourne develops "supreme" status in strong second installment

Rating: 9/10 (30 November 2008)

If you need proof that an action super spy franchise can handle a through plot line/sequel, "The Bourne Supremacy" is it. It is a very true follow-up to 2002's "Bourne Identity." There is no re-imagining done by new director Paul Greengrass. In fact, he makes Bourne even better. The action is grittier and more realistic and the pacing just as intense and engaging despite a story that is a little more complex, being more wrapped up in Bourne's past than the first installment.
At the beginning of the film, Bourne (Damon) is in India with his love interest Marie (Potente), thinking that the CIA program Treadstone that turned him into a super-assassin is officially old business and going to let him be. Well, they don't. In addition to someone coming to kill him, It turns out Bourne is set up for destroying a separate CIA operation in Berlin, so once again he's a wanted man. This time, the casting directors throw in another gem in Joan Allen as Pamela Landy, who heads up this mission to find Bourne. She's joined again by Brian Cox as Abbott, presumably the only person in the CIA left who knows anything about Treadstone. Julia Stiles also reprises her role in the film.
Bourne is motivated by anger and the drive to figure out more of his past (due to the amnesia he suffered at the beginning of "Identity"). He has fuzzy flashbacks that allude to his very first mission as an assassin. Of course it takes him all over the world and he's chased by police in about 3 different countries. "Supermacy" is loaded with car chases as its primary action sequences, all of which are done in style by Greengrass, who took the director's chair from Doug Liman, who moved to producer for this film. Greengrass uses a lot more cuts and hand-held camera-work to up the intensity of the scenes.
The film really works as both a sequel and its own plot. Knowledge of "Identity" is only necessary in this film if you want a better understanding of Bourne's character and parts of his motivation. It certainly does make "Supremacy" better but isn't a must to enjoy and understand the film as well as how awesome of a protagonist Jason Bourne is. Tony Gilroy, who worked on the "Identity" screenplay, makes sure this story functions on all these levels. Damon also continues to give a performance that capture's Bourne's fragility despite his stone-cold action persona.
While it's more of a continuation, another episode in the Bourne journey, it really does function well as a whole, stopping you from demanding more answers about Bourne's past. It also shows that clearly Bourne is the dominant movie action hero of the decade