By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Paul Greengrass
Country: germany, united_states
Year: 2004
Running time: 108
IMDB: Supremacy
Bruce says: “ATTENTION, SPOILERS.
“Jason Bourne is a wanted man. Trained by the CIA to be a hit man, he can’t escape his past. Although he remembers very little about his one and only CIA assignment, his dreams are offering clues here and there. His girlfriend Maria (Franka Potente) does her best to help him work through his layered anxieties. They live in Goa in the Southern part of India far away from Berlin where the hit occurred and Washington where the orders were given. What Bourne actually did was kill a Russian man who was a CIA target and his wife who happened to be in the way. After the hit, Bourne disappeared.
“The Russians are more resourceful in finding Bourne than the Americans. One quiet day a hit man (Karl Urban) finds Bourne and Maria in Goa and chases them through markets, the countryside and finally off a bridge. Maria drowns and Bourne escapes. Bourne, however, is assumed to be dead. As Bourne moves from India to Naples to Munich and Berlin, he seeks answers to what really happened in Berlin several years before. When Bourne triggers an intelligence alert by using his Bourne passport, the CIA agents in Naples try to nab him. As he makes his escape, Bourne overhears the agents in Washington talking about a hit in Berlin. Meanwhile CIA agents Pamela Landy (Joan Allen) and Ward Abbott are both trying to get to Bourne as well, albeit for different reasons. It seems that a CIA agent in Berlin was murdered and Bourne’s fingerprints were transferred to the murder scene via advanced technology. ‘Bring Bourne in,’ is the message from Landy.
“So the big showdown is in Berlin. The Washington agents are on a plane as soon as they realize Bourne is on the move. Bourne is approaching Berlin by car. Once he gets there, Bourne moves through subways, streets and hotel corridors with unusual deft and sang-froid. The enemy reveals himself and Bourne gets his revenge, then moves on to Moscow to settle his account with the Russian hit man.
“THE BOURNE SUPREMACY is a good old fashioned action film combined with a good deal of mystery and a bunch of thrills mixed in. In addition, it has a decent plot with enough twists and turns to keep the audience interested. The best thing of all is the character of Jason Bourne and the many facets of the character that Matt Damon brings to the screen. Although he is an amnesiac, Bourne is an idiot savant when it comes to making split second decisions in the name of self preservation. Damon also makes us believe that Bourne is a feeling, loving human being in spite of the memory loss that has reduced him to semi-automaton status. It is reassuring to see that Damon is maturing as an actor, enlarging his talent. Joan Allen’s performance is focused on the toughness a female CIA director must maintain when she works in a man’s world. Brian Cox delivers his character with his usual competency. Karl Urban is a terrific stone cold villain.
“One of the most satisfying things about THE BOURNE SUPREMACY is the way Paul Greengrass handles the action and violence. While it is often very realistic there are touches of opera and ballet which lessen the violence, making it palatable. The sounds accompanying the slugfest indicate blows that one cannot see from the angle of the viewer; nonetheless it seems quite real. Greengrass is noted for his critically acclaimed docudrama, BLOODY SUNDAY which now I plan to see. 4 cats