THE BOURNE SUPREMACY

Director: Paul Greengrass (The Theory of Flight, Bloody Sunday)
Starring: Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Brian Cox, Julia Stiles, Joan Allen

This second chapter of the Robert Ludlum spy series was a hyperactive and jerky film, but still had a fair amount worth recommending. It's unfortunate that the director chose to film this picture in the choppy visual and pacing style that he did. I found no good use for this choice and was massively annoyed by it. Rather than pausing even slightly to learn about these characters anywhere in the story, we had nothing but jumpy scenes and massively annoying cut after cut after cut. I think this guy thought he was shooting an episode of Law and Order - and while those may be viewed as "artsy" visuals for the small screen, in the land of films it's just poorly done. However, despite these concerns, this film still had a solid base. The acting was excellent for an action movie. Matt Damon was exceptional in the lead as an amnesiac super-spy trying to uncover his own past (there's a sentence I never would have imagined I'd ever write). The surrounding players were also well done. While I was seriously distracted by the hyperkinetic visual editing, I will admit that it probably heightened the peril of the thunderous action sequences. They were hard to follow, but I really did feel part of the action. All in all, I liked the original Bourne flick better than this sequel. This was certainly a solid effort, but it remains one of those movies where I'll be hard-pressed to remember the plot after a week.

Standouts: Kinetic action. Interesting direction. Matt Damon.
Blowouts: Overly kinetic action ... almost nauseating kinetic action.

Grade: B