All hype and no substance *Spoilers*

Rating: 3/10 (28 July 2004)

I'm sorry, I really don't see why everyone loves this movie. Even aside from all the terrible, jumpy camera work, there is absolutely no form of a plot at all. And I'm not just some movie-basher who only criticizes the movies I see--I like most movies and really loved the Bourne books--but this was just too much for me. Nothing that happens throughout the film has very much meaning, it was all essentially just a bunch of loosely interconnected ideas that allowed a continuation from fight scene to car chase.
First off, why did the Russians try to kill Bourne in the beginning of the movie? Do we ever find that out? It obviously had something to do with the Russians connection with David Abbot, but even that connection was hardly explained or touched on before Abbot blew his head off. And then when Marie was shot underwater, what was with that strange scene of underwater-CPR, followed by Bourne staring at her as he lets her drift away. Very bizarre. He also didn't seem too sad that she was gone after the fact, either. Other plot problems/weirdness were the Neski deal (I know it was his first assignment, but it was just so randomly touched on) and going to the Neski daughter (such a random scene...he goes there, tells her he killed her parents, makes her cry, then leaves...I guess you could say he was trying to make amends but the way it was shot was just odd), somehow going to that other assassins house for no really good reason, and when Bourne was getting chased at the end, how did they always know where he was?....all in all there wasn't much of a storyline, only fragments.
There are other problems, such as why Bourne is so easy for the CIA/other cops to find when he is supposedly a well trained assassin who can slip into and out of places unnoticed at will? He used his own passport twice at first, even when he knew people were looking for him. I mean, come on, the Jason Bourne in the books would never have let that happen, he was a chameleon. He never changed clothes in the movie either. I know they didn't follow the plot of the books, but they could have stuck with the character a LITTLE bit, ya know?
Anyways, I was disappointed to say the least. Seems like everyone else liked it, but I know this movie could have been sooooo much better had the writers stuck with the book story lines, at least to a degree. The Bourne Supremacy movie does not follow the book at all. All I can hope for is that many years down the road someone decides to remake these movies and do more justice to the books. 3 stars out of 10.