- Whatever else it accomplishes, Paul Greengrass' The Bourne Supremacy provides great evidence for the auteur theory of filmmaking. With such an uncanny degree of cast, plot, cinematography, and soundtrack continuity with its predecessor, The Bourne Identity, the two films remind me of those famous twin studies that seek to disentangle the effects of nature and nurture in human development. Comparing these films clearly suggests that nurture, in the form of directing, plays a major role. Gone is Doug Liman's preference to depict every punch and car crash in a completely objective and sometimes overly straightforward manner. Replacing it is Greengrass' now-famous directorial approach, alternately described as documentary-style or "shakycam," depending on whether the critic likes him or not. The result is a set of completely different films constructed from remarkably similar ingredients.
- The plot of The Bourne Supremacy really serves as a direct extension of the first film. Although Jason (Matt Damon) and Marie (Franka Potente) want to enjoy their new lives (and identities) while hiding out in Goa, Jason's recurring nightmares about his first mission (headed by an uncredited Chris Cooper) keep interfering. More dangerous still is the presence of an interloping Russian assassin (Karl Urban) who has planted false evidence linking Bourne to the bombing of a covert CIA base in Berlin. Pretty soon, Jason is back to his usual identity-swapping and car chases, but this time with far more dire consequences than the first film ever would have allowed. Perhaps the new CIA brass, Pamela Landy (Joan Allen), can sort through the various cloak-and-dagger machinations that her opposite number, Deputy Director Abbott (Brian Cox), is so adept at weaving. One almost feels sorry for those poor CIA intern-types (Julia Styles and Gabriel Mann) or that retired assassin (Marton Csokas) who never thought they would have to go through all this again.
- Predictably, my reaction to The Bourne Supremacy hinges heavily on the film's direction since nearly everything else is comparable in (high) quality to the first film. Part of me likes the way that Greengrass makes Bourne's nightmares look like the dark version of a Wong Kar-Wai film. In moments of nervous quiet, too, the documentary style provides an interesting way of depicting a character's inner turmoil. But then there are those action sequences that really suffer from being filmed with an unsteady camera. Why bother choreographing what must have been some impressive hand-to-hand combat only to screw it up by making everything difficult to follow? The worst offender, though, is the film's car chase finale. Vehicles are spinning out of control in a tunnel(!), and Greengrass simply refuses to allow the audience more than half a second to take it all in. While I obviously appreciate getting the chance to revisit this wonderful spy universe where assassins keep guns in their refrigerators and monitor phone conversations through the crosshairs of a sniper rifle, ultimately the direction makes The Bourne Supremacy feel like a blurry, vague shadow of a much better film.
