Review Of "The Bourne Supremacy"

Rating: 9/10 (18 September 2011)

In 2004 film "The Bourne Supremacy" is the Paul Greengrass-directed sequel to the acclaimed Doug Liman film "The Bourne Identity". The story follows the amnesiac titular character (Damon) as he attempts to find out more about his past as a black ops agent for the CIA. One of the things I noticed first about this film was the film's shift in aesthetics. Though Director Paul Greengrass' use of hand-held cameras has often come under considerable disagreement from some critics and fans, I feel that this aspect of the film really sort of adds to the intensity of a lot of the action and dialogue sequences. While the camera-work may have changed, there are certain things about the film that stayed close to what made the first movie so successful. For one, Matt Damon's performance is once again terrific, and with his portrayal, the audience really gets to see some sides of Jason Bourne that they might not gotten to see in "Identity". John Powell's score is really well done, as it uses all of the themes from "Identity", but develops upon those themes so that we feel as though we are watching a different chapter in Bourne's life. Tony Gilroy's screenplay contains really compelling and entertaining dialogue and a very interesting adaption of Robert Ludlum's story. The action sequences are spectacular as well, for they once again showcase Jason Bourne's incredible ability to overcome immense odds with the skills he learned in the CIA. All in all, I felt that "The Bourne Supremacy" was a worthy installment in the "Bourne" franchise that upped the emotion and action to an impressive degree.