Good script, good acting, what could go wrong?

Rating: 8/10 (24 July 2004)

******* WARNING: SPOILERS *******
There are two things I usually like to harp on about movies these days. Poor scripts and bad acting. For the first time in my film reviewing career, I can honestly say that I have nothing to gripe about with either of the aspects with The Bourne Supremacy.
Having remembered the characters from The Bourne Identity, I was anxious too see how they had changed or moved on in the last two years. I wasn't disappointed. Seeing Jason struggle with his headaches and nightmares, still unable to piece together the lost years of his life was touching, and immediately pulled me in and got me interested. You could plainly see that his love for Marie was the only thing keeping him together, and keeping him going. Then a-whamma-bamma-boom! Jason is set up for a crime he did not commit, and his beloved Marie is gone. So, what does he do? Exactly what he said he would do in the first film. He goes right to his accusers front door and shoves it right back down their throats. The tag-line was right; they should have left him alone! Step by step we see Jason battle with his fellow patriots, his inner demons, and his enemies. It all leads up to a climactic high-speed chase through the streets of Moscow, and a life and death confrontation between Jason and Marie's killer. The moment that passes between them speaks on so many levels, as Jason realizes; this nemesis was only doing the exact same thing that he had been trained to do. I was truly impressed. I loved the character change in Jason because of his love for Marie, and the ending leaves you guessing when and where he will turn up next. The script and the plot were solid, the film was well-paced, and the character development was outstanding. And get this, there was little if any profanity in this film, and no long, drawn out sex scenes. Wow! A well-scripted, well-characterized, well-paced action film with no profanity and no sex. I loved it!
I also loved, (and this takes me a lot to admit) Matt Damon as Jason Bourne.
I thought he did a good job in Identity, but in Supremacy, he nailed it. Everything he did in this film convinced me that no other actor could have filled this character's shoes but him, and this is high praise considering the onslaught I usually dish out at male lead characters in action films. In fact, I don't really have anything negative to say about any of the cast.
They all did their characters justice, and then some. Bravo, Joan Allen, Albert Finney, Julia Stiles, and so on. You all did a great job!
But, there were some major problems with The Bourne Supremacy. The camera work and editing. Now I am all for creative cinematography, but what's with all the sloppy hand-held shots, the out-of-focus shots, and the badly cropped shots? And what's with all the jump cuts during the action sequences? Yes, when used correctly, the combination of these shots and edits can make for some interesting film sequences, that I admit. But there was just so much of it in this film that it left the me feeling slightly disoriented after each scene, and headachey by the film's end. The first scene with Jason and Marie is a perfect example. This is a beautiful scene, in which Jason expresses his love and devotion to Marie. The hand-held shots is this scene were so bad they completely distracted the viewer from the intimacy of the scene. And the jump cuts during the action sequences were so jarring and so numerous, that the viewer was dizzy and confused by the end of them. I mean, when you are watching a high-speed chase, the jerky movements caused by the action itself is enough to give a hair raising effect. But adding in montages of jump cuts full of out of focus shots and jerky hand held shots on top of it is just overkill. At times I felt like I was watching a student film made by and overly ambitious freshman cinematographer that was trying to impress the professor by throwing in every different type of eye-catching shot they could think of. Comon' folks! We invented tripods for a reason!
Overall, I thought this was an excellent character-driven action film (yes, they do exist) with a great script and some outstanding performances. If I could rank it by these two aspects only, I would give it a 10. But, since all aspects must be accounted for, I find I cannot. So, take some tylenol or advil with you so you aren't completely disoriented and headachey by the end of the film, and you should have a great time.
My rank: 8/10