Matt Damon continues to be a great action hero...

Rating: 9/10 (28 May 2014)

One of the greatest challenges to overcome when producing a franchise is that, inevitably, people will change. Actors sometimes move on, and this can greatly change the vision and style of the franchise. Results can differ greatly: "Terminator: Salvation" proved that the franchise was nothing without Arnie, but "The Dark Knight" managed just as well with Maggie Gyllenhall as "Batman Begins" had with Katie Holmes. But what about directors? Alfonso Cuaron's taking over of the Harry Potter franchise, albeit briefly, took the series to an even better place after Chris Columbus' first two films. So how would "The Bourne Supremacy" cope without Doug Liman at the helm, and with Paul Greengrass instead? In short – very well indeed. Greengrass is now known, after "United 93″ and "Captain Phillips", for his intimate, documentary-like style, which makes for great thrillers. And thankfully it carries off in this too, showcasing Matt Damon's abilities perfectly in numerous sequences.
Matt Damon continues to be a great action hero and the matter of 'learning stuff while he does' is one of the things that continues to make this series so watchable. The film follows Jason Bourne's continual quest to find out who he is, while getting caught up in CIA operations and being framed for crimes he didn't commit. He's constantly on the run from CIA Deputy Director Pamela Landy, played superbly by Joan Allen, and their two phone conversations late in the film show a great dynamic between the two characters.
This film plays more with the nature of Bourne's memory loss, and is very interesting visually when his memories start to come back to him. "Supremacy"'s use of plot is extremely bold, especially in killing off an important main character extremely early on, but carries it off effectively. This device makes the rest of the movie more thrilling, because you now know that no character is truly safe, apart maybe from Bourne himself. The film's greatest strength, however, is its gripping action sequences, and this film has plenty of car chases and fight scenes to keep the audience happy. At times, the actual plot can be a bit muddled or confusing, but action is never too far around the corner, and is always worth waiting for.
So here it is, "The Bourne Supremacy" is a rare movie. It's a sequel that's better than its original, but despite the differences in aesthetic, it doesn't feel that far removed from "Identity", just a development on those ideas. The franchise's weakness continues to be its slightly muddled plot, but perhaps it only feels that way because we're so used to Hollywood spoon-feeding. It's a film that's definitely worth putting effort into, because the payoff is superb.