Susan Granger’s review of “The Bourne Supremacy” (Universal)
Two years ago, “The Bourne Identity” introduced Jason Bourne (Matt Damon), a trained CIA contract killer who has amnesia when he’s pulled out of the sea. While attempting to recover his memory and adjust to a new life, he must not only evade malevolent operatives from his former life but also protect his relationship with Marie (Franka Potente) who has befriended him. After a somewhat confusing set-up, particularly if you’re not familiar with the characters, Jason and Marie are being chased through the streets of Goa, India, by a killer (Karl Urban). Meanwhile, the CIA is coping with a botched Berlin assignment which CIA watchdog Pamela Landy (Joan Allen) links with Jason, who finds his to way to Naples, then Munich and Berlin. From a CIA field agent (Julia Stiles), he discovers that he’s been framed and eludes various hit-men. Eventually, the deadly spy game travels by train to Moscow, where much of the action takes place, along with a terrific car chase, and the groundwork is laid for a third installment. Based on Robert Ludlum’s best-seller, adapted by Tony Gilroy (co-screenwriter on “The Bourne Identity”) and helmed by British director Paul Greengrass (“Bloody Sunday”), the enigmatic character-driven story evolves into another high-stakes, globe-trotting, post-Cold War action-adventure that, this time, has the subtext of a rogue assassin’s journey of atonement. Matt Damon infuses Jason Bourne with a deep sadness, along with justifiable paranoia, and he’s suitably surrounded by stalwart supporting players. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Bourne Supremacy” is a tension-filled, fast-paced 6, with the shaky, hand-held camera-work and quick-cut editing presumably geared to spur on a feeling of relentless urgency.
