Brainy yet also hard-hitting action thriller

Rating: 10/10 (25 July 2004)

The Bourne Supremacy is a sequel that both manages to retain a certain tightly-edited/European/no-nonsense feel from its predecessor and yet move in a very different direction in story, emotional outlook, and style of action. Supremacy is darker, faster, more serious, and even leaner than The Bourne Identity, which is quite a feat.
Many of those strong elements (emotion, style, leanness) are helped by the deliberate use of a "you are there" hand-held camera. I and those around me felt like we were IN the fight in the townhouse, we all felt like WE were getting bashed about in the car-chases, we all felt we were there. And the movie almost literally hits hard...much of the audience all looked around at each other with wide eyes after the car chase, just as people do after an especially rough wooden-build roller-coaster ride.
This camera also puts an even finer point on the lethality of Jason Bourne. By making it feel like you are right there, it at times almost makes you feel like a helpless witness, trusting Bourne not to completely destroy what are sometimes relative innocents around him while at the same time you can't (and could never) do a thing about it. One such intense scene with Julia Stiles even manages to bring out evidence of honest acting ability on Stiles' part.
The Bourne/Damon combo proves yet again to be the best thing to hit action/thriller movies in a very long time. Damon exudes intelligence as usual but also now provides a believable example of a fit yet average-sized "everyman" character that is neither an obvious martial artist or a hulking weight-lifting brute, yet can stealthily erupt from the quiet and devastate them both...maybe even at once. Matt Damon seems perfect for this, as many have come to agree.
There are also the scarce but important moments of humanity that only a potent actor can pull off for the Bourne character, and here Damon is even more successful. To say much more about any part of this story would be spoilers, but safe to say the movie begins and ends with a requirement for emotional acting that someone who is ONLY an action star simply could not pull off.
Adding to the excellence are strong performances from critical favorites such as Joan Allen and Brian Cox. Franka Potente also returns as Marie, Bourne's German girlfriend from the first movie, though her role takes on a new significance here.
Very highly recommended movie that will make you think, beat you up as though you're there, and leave you exiting the theater quietly wide-eyed after not only absorbing the spectacle but also the well-crafted quiet emotional moment bookending it. And then you'll want more.