Review of The Bourne Supremacy (2004) by Andrew B — 24 Aug 2011

Matt Damon is, hands-down, the best actor working in action films right now. Just as Sean Connery has personified James Bond, so has Damon become strongly identified with Jason Bourne, a CIA operative created by the mind of author Robert Ludlow, whoâ(TM)s training left his memory and life in ruins. As we start this sequel, his girlfriend is killed in India and he is forced to come to Europe to figure out why. The motives are clear and the chase scenes are exciting without unnecessary pyrotechnics. The only obvious flaw is that you sometimes wonder how people can find him and yet not (quite) manage to kill him.

The project that brain-washed Bourne into a trained killer has been cancelled & his former bosses are trying to cover their tracks for their past misdeeds by trying to kill him. As he unravels the mystery of who they are and why they want him dead, Bourneâ(TM)s character interacts with a strong CIA boss played by Joan Allen, who comes to respect and sympathize with how unfairly life has treated Jason Bourne.

Towards the end of the film, Bourne travels to Moscow to, ostensibly, apologize for his past misdeeds, which he can barely remember committing. The ending is as surprising, moving, and uplifting as anything I have seen in an action film. If I have any other minor quibbles, it has to do with crazy movie logic. His apology in Moscow causes at least one death, several arrests, and well over one-hundred serious traffic accidents. It doesnâ(TM)t seem worth it, in the larger scheme of things. But since the movie puts Bourne in a "supreme" position, it is difficult to argue that we shouldnâ(TM)t worry about a few incidental deaths for the greater justice of the plot.