Bourne Supremacy (2004)

"Smart, fast-paced and totally gripping!  Bill Zwecker, Chicago Sun-Times
"...a tour-de-force of thriller filmmaking.  David Edelstein, Slate
"Spy movies just got thrilling again.  Desson Thomson, The Washington Post
"Rarely does pop come with such sizzle.  Manohla Dargis, Los Angeles Times
"This is high-speed action realism carried off with the dexterity of a magician pulling a hundred rabbits out of a hat in one graceful gesture.  Stephen Holden, The New York Times

Editor's Note Matt Damon returns as amnesiac assassin Jason Bourne in this fast-paced follow-up to 2002's THE BOURNE IDENTITY. Forced out of hiding as the result of an attempt on his life, Bourne fulfills his earlier promise to wreak vengeance on his former CIA employers, some of whom may be in league with murderous Russians. Brian Cox and Joan Allen are both great as warring agency chiefs convinced Bourne orchestrated the murder of two of their own in a deal gone bad. Thanks to tense, gritty direction by Paul Greengrass (BLOODY SUNDAY), the plot stays tight, the characters believable, and suspense and thrills flow steady. Moody photography enhances the urban European locations, which--combined with handheld camerawork and fast editing--keeps the action realistic and CGI-free. Vividly capturing the fatalist flavor of Robert Ludlum's original novel, this is "globalism noir" at its finest. Franka Potente and Julia Stiles are back from the original, and the always dependable Marton Csokas shows up as one of Bourne's deadly fellow operatives. A rousing car chase through Moscow may outdo the ones in RONIN and THE FRENCH CONNECTION for visceral speed and length. As the icing on the cake, John Powell provides a menacing, ambient percussive score.

	Brian Cox
	Franka Potente
	Gabriel Mann
	Joa Allen
	Julia Stiles
	Karl Urban
	Matt Damon
	Michelle Monaghan
	Andrew R. Tennenbaum - Producer
	Doug Liman - Executive Producer
	John Powell - Original Music By
	Oliver Wood - Cinematographer
	Paul Greengrass - Director
	Philip Elton, et. al. - Art Director
	Richard Pearson, et. al. - Editor
	Robert Ludlum - Based On Novel By
	Tony Gilroy - Screenplay

Rolling Stone
"This one has everything, starting with a knockout performance from Matt Damon in what may become his signature role..." 08/06/2004 p.130

USA Today
"This gripping film also has an impressive cast....The movie belongs to Matt Damon, whose Jason Bourne is manly, exquisitely tough and oddly endearing." 09/03/2004 p.10E

Sight and Sound
"Fast, sharp and fun, THE BOURNE SUPREMACY is that rare thing: a film that provides the thrills of action-spectacle cinema without forcing the audience to feel like a roomful of idiots." 10/01/2004 p.43

Los Angeles Times
"In the smash-and-grab-you-by-the-throat action flick THE BOURNE SUPREMACY, style is meaning and that meaning is fast, fast, fast." 07/23/2004 p.E1

Entertainment Weekly
"Paul Greengrass puts you right there in the car with the characters....[The film has] a sense of claustrophobia and tension..." 12/10/2004 p.71

Premiere
"[A] skillfully distilled transcontinental chase that swaps action-movie waggery and video-game pacing for a jaw-clenching sincerity." 02/01/2005 p.108

Widescreen Review
"Get ready for one wild car chase after another in THE BOURNE SUPREMACY....This is an incredibly detailed and creative soundtrack that does a good job of enveloping the audience..." 07/01/2006 p.65

Chicago Sun-Times
3 stars out of 4 -- "The movie skillfully delivers a series of fights, stalkings, plottings and chases..." 07/24/2004

ReelViews 7 of 10
The Bourne Supremacy is a serviceable thriller - no more, no less. This may come as a disappointment to those anticipating something on the same level as the surprise hit 2002 movie, The Bourne Identity. Sadly, the cinematic second installment of Robert Ludlum's trilogy falls short of its predecessor in almost every area, except perhaps acting. There's nothing wrong with any of the performances in this movie; it's just that the actors aren't as important as they were two years ago. Action has moved to the fore, shouldering aside plot and character development in order to maintain the frantic pace that director Paul Greengrass believes is necessary to retain his audience's attention. - James Berardinelli

Chicago Sun-Times 8 of 10
Jason Bourne obtained an identity in "The Bourne Identity" (2002), and the title of "The Bourne Supremacy" hints that he is not going to die -- not with The Bourne Ultimatum still to go. He may not die even then, but live on like James Bond, caught in a time loop, repeating the same archetypal pattern again and again as his persona is inhabited by generations of actors...The movie skillfully delivers a series of fights, stalkings, plottings and chases, punctuated by a little brooding...The movie is assembled from standard thriller ingredients, and hurtles from one action sequence to another... - Roger Ebert