The Bourne Supremacy

Switching directors in the middle of series is a risky movie. You can alienate fans, anger actors, or lose the tone that made the original film successful. However, fresh blood behind the camera can give a series a new identity, especially in action films. After the unexpected success of The Bourne Identity and frustrations with director Doug Liman, Universal Studios took a chance and snatched up Paul Greengrass for the sequel. The resulting film was a critical and commercial improvement upon the original, with much of the thanks going to Greengrass' shaky cam intensity. But does this change of tone truly work or were critics simply pleased to see something different? Let's find out.

After the events of the original film, Jason Bourne is enjoying a fairly amicable existence on the run with Marie, despite being plagued by nightmares. However, Bourne's new life is thrown upside down when a Russian agent arrives to kill him and frames him for an assassination. Now on the run from the C.I.A. once again and hell bent on revenge, Bourne will have to use all of his skills to stay alive, clear his name, and uncover the truth.

When I first watched this film, I thought it was a bit over-hyped. Not because it's bad, but because for an action-film, the action scenes aren't as frequent and comprehensive as I would prefer. That said, watching it again I have a larger appreciation for the shift in style and tone provided by Paul Greengrass. It feels more intense and gritty and lets the audience feel the in the moment chaos rather than making them casual observers. How does it stand up in the series? Time for the breakdown.

The Fight: Intense but Disappointing

Let me start by saying there are two things that irritate me about this fight with Jarda. The first thing is that Bourne's opponent spends most of the fight with his hands bound. Yes he has a blade and that can cause stabbing but when your opponent can only truly dole out two handed strikes and you've got the agility Bourne has demonstrated, this shouldn't even be close. It begins to find its footing once Jarda gets his hands free and Bourne grabs a magazine but that's when the second problem comes in: editing. As a martial arts movie fan I like watching each blow, block, and counter-move but Greengrass' rapid-fire editing makes that very hard to follow. Sometimes we're in close and then we pan out rapidly to see someone get disarmed. It's intense but not as engaging as it could be.

The Emotional Stakes: Personal and Engaging

This is probably the strongest story of the series because it layers on motivations for our hero. Admittedly trying to frame a notoriously difficult to kill agent is incredibly stupid, even for a government agency, but the result means Bourne has ample reason to seek answers and revenge. This film also gives him an emotional journey as he debates whether or not to become the weapon he was trained to be or what he became in his time away. Add in a natural desire for justice and the audience is locked in to root for Bourne's success.

The Car Chase: The Series Best

The car chase finale of this movie is arguably the series best as Bourne tries to stay ahead of pursuing police and take out the agent responsible for framing him and the attempt on his life. What makes this particular setup so great isn't just great stunt work but the slow crescendo that leads us to this point. We start on foot, Bourne gets wounded, and then things ramp up for some auto-vehicular insanity. 

Excitement Level: A Revenge Tale to Savor

While Paul Greengrass' inexperience with a Hollywood level blockbuster shows from time to time, The Bourne Supremacy delivers a more emotionally satisfying successor to The Bourne Identity and a handful of action scenes for the ages. Tomorrow we'll look at the final film in the original trilogy see how the apparent finale either improved or feel short.