Someone Take Me Off This Roller Coaster

Rating: 7/10 (29 July 2004)

The Bourne Supremacy is a decent movie that's really only tainted by the poor camera work and some missing additional action. I'm not going to get too involved with the story, since I'm sure someone else has already explained the plot. A short summary is that Jason Bourne is being framed for killing to agents in Berlin. The Secret Service is out to bring him in or terminate him. Jason has to travel all around the globe trying to track people down to prove his innocence. Even though there are some intense chase scenes throughout various international countries, what kills the beautiful action is the closeness of the camera. In every action scene, even the hand to hand combat, the camera is right on top of the actors. The fight between Jason and an old agent in his apartment is totally ruined because the camera is two feet away from them. At times it appears that the camera is in the fight as well, as he falls down and the camera bounces all over the place. Even the car chases, which usually show the action from close, medium and long distances, is constantly right next to the car. There are times when all you see is the front end and tire. Want to see good car chase camera work, watch "Gone in 60secs." Even check out the trailer for "Taxi" (starring Queen Latifah). That's how car chase scenes should be filmed.
Besides this problem, the movie is pretty decent. Even though the plot is predictable, the end result isn't. All the actors do a great job in this film. Joan Allen is great as Pamela Landy and Matt Damon is perfect as the hard nosed take no prisoners Jason Bourne. I was looking forward to a bit more martial arts fighting, but it really didn't come.
There is already talks of a third (and probably final) movie. Bourne Supremacy had a high opening of $51 million, which is nothing to sneeze at. Meanwhile Halley Barry's Catwoman only made $17 million. Is The Bourne Supremacy worth seeing. Sure, but sit way in the back, as sitting up close will make you dizzy.