If you enjoy action movies where intelligence is at least as important as cool martial arts moves and big guns, The Bourne Supremacy (and its predecessor, The Bourne Identity) should not be missed.
(Note : I have not read Ludlum’s books - yet! - so I cannot comment on the movie’s relationship with it’s source material.)
The “hunted man” theme is still a big part of the Bourne Identity’s story. However, The Bourne Supremacy could be considered more as a revenge movie. Even though everyone is still hunting our favourite amnesiac ex-assassin, he’s on the prowl himself as he seeks the people who keep persecuting him after his “retirement” from covert operations. A big thrill in the Bourne Supremacy is the cat-and-mouse play between hunters and fugitive as the roles keep switching from one to another as the situation evolves.
The major major difference between the The Bourne Supremacy and it’s predecessor, The Bourne Identity, is that the wonderful Franka Potente only plays a small part at the beginning of the movie. I loved her in Run, Lola, Run and I thought her character added a subtle and refreshing layer of romance in the The Bourne Identity. I found the relationship between Matt Damon’s Jason Bourne and her character to be refreshingly understated and sexy. Her disappearance from the story creates a romantic vacuum that is somewhat unusual for a Hollywood Blockbuster. I guess this could be taken as a disappointment or an improvement depending on what you look for in an action thriller.
I won’t go in the details of the story here. Suffice to say that it’s not safe to be on the street while Jason Bourne is in a car chase (especially while wounded), everything can be a weapon when push comes to shove and, if you are working in secret services, stay away from windows - or at the very least, pull down the shades!
