No need to see 'Identity' after realizing 'Supremacy' of second...

Rating: 9/10 (23 July 2004)

"The Bourne Supremacy" is an action packed thrill ride and spy flick all wrapped around a simple, confused, amnesia-stricken man trying to find his way in the world while dodging fellow assassins, CIA officials and his framed crimes...Now, I decided to give this film a hesitant 9/10 instead of an 8...here's why it received a 9...and why it was a hesitant 9.

Matt Damon reprises his role as the former-CIA-employed assassin, Jason Bourne. Bourne is still searching for justification to his thoughts and visions while still trying to cope with the realizations of what they might mean. Damon himself is very good as Bourne, a nice increase from his part in 'Identity', although he was good in that as well. There are moments when Bourne must rely on his primal instincts on the spot to find out just what he is going to do next and how he is going to stay that instrumental step ahead of his followers. In these moments, Damon really shines brightly as the deeply methodical and deadly Bourne. The rest of the cast does very well at keeping up with Damon's fast paced but disturbed performance. Most noteworthy is Simon Cox as Ward Abbot. The great thing about Cox's character is that you never really know whether or not he is trying to defend Bourne...trying to kill Bourne...or trying to defend Bourne in order to defend himself.
It is this kind of shenanegan that brings "Supremacy" its greatest triumph. Most of the events that occur within the timeline of the film are somewhat routine and have been done in other films to a certain extent, but the great characterization that follows the preferably-action-before-words Bourne and the intertwining, ever escalating plot keeps each event fresh and gives it that nice boost of energy and charisma that this movie really deserves. "Supremacy" is so good at keeping the audience in tact and allowing them to attempt to figure the events, the plot and the characters out before it is finally revealed to the audience that I did not lose interest in this film once during its entire duration...a whopping one hour and fifty-five minutes.
One thing that I really liked and enjoyed realizing was the shaky camera movements whenever Jason Bourne was in a shot. It represents just how unstable his life and mind have become, and especially how unstable Bourne is during this phase of his life. Bourne himself is not a borderline psychotic, but doesn't reserve himself from punching down a field officer if he has to. Bourne is deeply methodical and I really found it intriguing that he can pull himself away from his own delusions and memories to focus on the moment. It shows just how smart and cunning Jason Bourne is.

Another great thing is the pacing of this film. Even in its slow moments, "Supremacy" is wonderfully fast-paced. It is a very quickly-paced film, but the audience has no need to struggle in keeping up with it...masterful pacing to say the least. The action sequences are dazzlingly fast and work superbly well, although there is a fight scene that gets a little too caught up in its own momentum and the audience does lose track of exactly who has the knife, who just got poked in the eye...that sort of thing. In truth, however, that pace and uncertainty about it adds to the suspense of it all.
Now, for what is bad about "Supremacy", and I must say, there isn't much. The characters outside of Bourne and the three main supporters aren't exceptionally deep, and the audience has to rely on not much more than the actor's faces to keep them separated. Some of Bourne's visions are so fast that many of the audience members digging through popcorn bags will miss anything important shown in them...the visions are supposed to be fast, but lets keep the demographic in mind, here, shall we? As mentioned earlier...the fight scene that moves exceptionally quickly is hard to follow...yes, the winner is determined after a few moments so there is no reason to panic, but it still brings nostalgia of those old Godzilla films where the two monsters clashed so close to the screen that the viewer couldn't make out just what was going on.
All in all, "The Bourne Supremacy" is well worth viewing for a measly eight dollars. A nice step up from the original where the entire film is a giant chase and the audience gets a real sense of being paranoid and being on their toes. Again, 9/10.