Born to be Bourne, but no supreme direction

Rating: 7/10 (26 July 2004)

Greetings again from the darkness. I am a huge fan of the first Bourne movie and am now throughly convinced that Matt Damon was truly born to be Bourne. He has always appeared uncomfortable with being an actor (and definitely with being a movie star), so playing Jason Bourne is the perfect match. Bourne is uncomfortable, though, exceptional in most situations whether kicking the crap out of airport security or driving a cool little jeep through the streets of India. Bourne #2 delivers this exciting character into a world where both sides are against him - even his own side.
What this one lacks is a great script and professional direction. Director Paul Greengrass seems clueless on shooting action scenes and we rarely know if we are looking at a kneecap, hubcap or ballcap. He seems intent on being stylish rather than capturing the essence of the action. This story was "based" on Ludlum's character and the story lacks any real spice. We know where it is headed the first time we see the meeting room with Joan Allen (at her usual ice queen level) and Brian Cox (delivering the best line in the movie - "puddle"). Franka Potente returns as Bourne's babe, though her screen time and lines are far too limited. On the other hand, Julia Stiles gets just enough with her 6 minutes. Karl Urban is an uber-cool bad guy, but of course, this is Matt Damon's film all the way. Some great scenery shots of the world's great cities, but alas, the direction and screenplay prevent this from being all it can be.