Monday, July 13, 2009

The Bourne Supremacy (2004)


Movie quotes:
Jarda: Word in the ether was you'd lost your memory.
Jason Bourne: You still should have moved.

Pamela Landy: What if I can't find her?
Jason Bourne: It's easy. She's standing right next to you.

Kirill: You told me I had one month off.
Gretkov: You told me Jason Bourne was dead.

"Get some rest, Pam. You look tired."
- Jason Bourne

At a glance:
The second installment of the Matt Damon-led Bourne Trilogy is still an effective action thriller with exotic Euro locations, but it lacks some of the emotional punch of The Bourne Identity

Our review (with spoilers):
Jason Bourne is back. Once again, various people and agencies consider him a rogue and want him dead. He might have been able to stay beneath the radar, but a Russian agent kills two men in Berlin and plants one of Bourne’s prints at the scene. This sends CIA coordinator Pamela Landy (Joan Allen) in pursuit of Bourne. Allen steps into a similar role that Chris Cooper played in Identity; she’s perfectly cast; she even looks a little like Cooper in drag. Landy pursues Bourne in Berlin and Moscow; those two cities provide exotic backdrops, although they are decidedly less pleasing to look at than Paris was from Identity. Likewise, there are attempts made to put emotional hooks into Supremacy, but for a reason I won’t mention here (since it would reveal a major spoiler), they aren’t as effective as Identity. There are also more contrivances (like Zorn taking Abbott aside to show him evidence first before Landy; and  Bourne not killing Abbott) that are there to serve the character’s arc rather than make any sense. Consequently, Supremacy is a more conventional thriller; its top shelf locations and casting of Damon and Allen still make it better than many.

Rating: 2.75 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"Flashes of color and streaks of movement can make for a striking picture, but only if you can see what's taking place, not to mention if you care about who is in jeopardy."
- Eric Melin (Lawrence.com)

"Supremacy is, minor quibbles aside, a worthy successor to The Bourne Identity."
- Pete Vonder Haar (Film Threat)

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