Very good sequel

Rating: Null/10 (11 June 2018)

I still remember the first Bourne film fondly. It took the premise of James Bond, kept the larger than life spy thriller aspect intact, while bringing it closer to ground, so to speak. Instead of a suave English ladykiller gentleman, we have an amnesiac American, who feels much more an everyman. It was a good formula, and the film certainly left an impact.
Which is why I'm pleased to say that the sequel comes pretty close to matching the original. The story picks up sometime after the events of the original. Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) and his girlfriend, Marie Kreutz (Franka Potente), have successfully evaded capture so far and are enjoying their life in India. That is until Bourne is once again pulled back into the world of espionage.
I like that the film feels like it's continuing the story. So many sequels try to retell the exact same story, but in this it feels like they had a completely new story to tell. The events of the original are not ignored and the progression of both characters and events feels natural. Sure, there is a touch of maintaining the status quo, but not in a way that feels forced.
The characters are also really good once again. I would have liked to see more of Marie, but that is largely made up by the presence of Pamela Landy (Joan Allen), a high-ranking CIA operative, who's looking for Bourne. Very much an MVP of the film.
That being said, I have to admit that the original film had better action scenes and was sleeker all around. The action scenes in this are not bad, but the film suffers heavily from shaky-cam. Plus, the villains are paper thin and/or cartoonish. Not that the villains in the original very all that great, but they were at least passable.
Nevertheless, if you liked The Bourne Identity, this is very much worth a watch.