Bourne For Success

Rating: 7/10 (24 July 2004)

The Bourne Supremacy is this summer's perfect companion to Spiderman. It follows the same rules of ordinary person with amazing powers but at the same time, giving this person some emotion such as doubt and fear. Catwoman, released this weekend as well, is like the weaker cousin to these two. It's not that girl power isn't cool but it needs to be treated with the same maturity that the old fashion man gets.
Maturity is what sets Bourne aside from his closest comparison. Bond, James Bond. Not that age is the gauge here but Matt Damon's Jason Bourne is more serious and less happy-go-lucky-I-think-I'll-forget-my-mission-and-go-talk-to-this-girl in his manner. Hence the lack of abrupt stops for a half naked woman to coo softly `Oh, Jason' during this film.
The emotional tone of this movie is created in a very honest way. If the scene calls for the audience to be on edge, the camera does not dart behind the hero and take him into dark areas where it is hard to see what might jump out next. Cheap sight gags are a dime a dozen in most suspenseful movies and even though Â‘Supremacy' is not a suspense driven feature, it comes with its share of uncertainty.
Actually, uncertainty is a major tone. It speaks of Bourne's lack of knowledge about himself and his past. The camera takes on a very loose feel during a hand-to-hand combat scene and that puts the audience just far enough out that we can't tell exactly what's happening. It doesn't help that both men look alike and are clothed in all black. We are unaware of how Bourne is faring and that puts us in his mind set. At the same time that we feel this way, however, Damon gives his character an almost unreal sense of knowing everything. Maybe he doesn't know why but he still can figure things out fast and seems to know exactly what to do all the time. He always knows where he is going and what he's going to do when he gets there. He also has this amazing way of knowing what his opponent is going to do.
The plot is not over looked in this movie in exchange for high-speed car chases and extensive damage for no reason. Yes, these exist too but not in the same way that they do in movies like Independence day or Minority Report. What drives the plot is the supporting cast actually. Bourne spends a lot of time getting from here to there and occasionally will move the story in a new direction but not as much as his cast mates. The strongly written part (played by Joan Allen) of the CIA member looking for Bourne is aided by the return cast member Julia Stiles showing that she is stronger in supporting than in lead (don't see The Prince and Me). Both women display a strong screen presence and the girl power that Catwoman was trying for. ****/*****