Ignore the critics - the shaky camera-work is great!!

Rating: Null/10 (13 August 2004)

Hollywood is finally beginning to discover the knack of making great sequels to great original films, invariably making them even better. This summer we've had "Shrek 2" and "Spiderman 2" to prove this rule and now we have "The Bourne Supremacy".
I went into this hoping that it would be at least as good as "The Bourne Identity" (for my money one of the best films of 2002). I was a bit dubious about the choice of Paul Greengrass for this type of film. I've seen "Theory of Flight", "The Murder of Stephen Lawrence" and "Bloody Sunday" and enjoyed them all, with "The Murder of Stephen Lawrence" being particularly impressive in its use of grainy hand-held camera-work to help suggest that what you were watching was in fact a documentary rather than a drama. But these were serious films with serious themes and Greengrass would have been my last choice for an expensive Hollywood sequel to a blockbusting action film.
Well I'm glad to say I was wrong. Greengrass has managed to improve on Doug Liman's excellent original in almost every way. The fight scenes are well shot and edited in a way I haven't seen since "On Her Majesty's Secret Service". The choice of hand-held camera is very effective here and ably puts across how a fight would seem in real life rather than a static camera watching two people throw punches at each other. If you're caught up in such a fight, it is chaotic and you can't always tell what is happening. The same can be said for the car chases (although I think the car chase has the slight edge in the first film, it is still effectively presented here and is still miles better than most car chases portrayed in films in recent years). Needless to say, I didn't suffer from any motion sickness. Quite the reverse, the camera-work and the editing really pull you into this film.
The acting is good with a great quality cast even in the minor roles (all of which help Matt Damon look even better than than he is - and he is good here). And whilst it may seem to some who have commented here already that Julia Stiles is particularly wasted in such a tiny role and whilst I would have liked to see more of her, at least the character wasn't there solely as a new romantic interest for Matt Damon (which I feared she was shaping up to be). And the scene in which Damon terrorises her with a gun is terrific with Stiles seemingly in genuine terror of what Damon might do to her (a risky scene as Bourne does come across as unsympathetic here). As she usually plays such strong characters, it was a change to see her do something different and do it so well. A great piece of acting from a great actress. She makes every one of her few scenes count and I hope they find a way to bring her back for the inevitable third film ("The Bourne Franchise" perhaps?)
The story itself is a bit convoluted and I'm not sure I fully understood the back story (this is from someone who managed to understand what was going on in the Tom Cruise/Brian De Palma version of "Mission Impossible"). But in truth it doesn't really matter. If you saw the first film then you know that Damon's Jason Bourne is a contract killer working for the CIA who has suffered from amnesia and can't remember most of his past life (even his real name). The actual plot about the Russian mafia is merely what Hitchcock called a "McGuffin", just an excuse to see Bourne framed for something he didn't do and for the CIA to pursue him all over again while Bourne has his own agenda as he struggles to regain his memory.
In a film chock full of great moments, Tony Gilroy's intelligent script leaves the very best scene to the end when Bourne confronts the daughter of a man he has killed to tell her the truth and ask for her forgiveness. This is a scene of great humanity and elevates the film into another dimension entirely, proving that not all Hollywood blockbusters have to be completely brain dead to be successful. It also proves that Matt Damon can be a good actor when given the opportunity, especially since the scene features little dialogue, requiring Damon to act with his face. He is matched in an equally excellent performance from Russian actress Oksana Akinshina in her English debut performance (she was in Lilya 4-ever). In just a few minutes screen time, she manages to make her mark to such an extent that I will never forget the look on her face as she discovers the truth about the death of her parents. Although there is not a single weak link in the acting stakes in this film, her performance is the one I will remember and she deserves to go onto bigger things in the future.
The last great touch to this great film is the welcome reprise of Moby's "Extreme Ways" over the closing credits. Brilliant!!
Bring on the next instalment. Now!!