The Bourne Supremacy (DVD)

.../> ******************************************************************

The second chapter of the “Bourne” series takes a more brutal, mean approach than its predecessor, and it’s clear that several changes have been made since the surprise hit of 2002. Author Robert Ludlum had passed away a year prior to BOURNE IDENTITY’s release, and director Doug Liman, who did exceptionally well, was fired. The reasons for this drastic decision ...
...was in constant battle with the studio on his vision vs. their vision, which would explain why re-shoots were done for nearly a year. Needless to say, this is a common problem in the business; Richard Donner was fired before finishing SUPERMAN II and was replaced by a director who knew nothing about superheroes and wasn’t a Superman fan at all. Liman does continue on as an executive proucer, and thankfully his replacement manages to continue the ... more

******************************************************************

TITLE: Bourne Supremacy, The

RATING: ****

CAST: Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Joan Allen, Brian Cox, Julia Stiles, Karl Urban, Gabriel Mann, Martin Csokas, Tom Gallup, John Bedford Lloyd, Ethan Sandler, Michelle Monaghan, Karel Roden, Tomas Arana, Oksana Akinshina, Tim Griffin, Patrick Crowley, Chris Cooper.

DIRECTOR: Paul Greengrass

SCREENWRITER: Tony Gilroy

BASED ON NOVEL: "The Bourne Supremacy" by Robert Ludlum

STUDIO: Universal Pictures/ Kennedy-Marshall Company / MP Theta Productions / Ludlum Entertainment

RUNNING TIME: 108 min

RATED: PG-13 (US) & 12A (UK); for strong violence and language.

DVD AVAILABILITY: 7 GBP from Amazon; ASIN #B000QJMSAU

******************************************************************
INTRODUCTION: NO LIMAN OR LUDLUM
******************************************************************

The second chapter of the “Bourne” series takes a more brutal, mean approach than its predecessor, and it’s clear that several changes have been made since the surprise hit of 2002. Author Robert Ludlum had passed away a year prior to BOURNE IDENTITY’s release, and director Doug Liman, who did exceptionally well, was fired. The reasons for this drastic decision are only known to him and Universal studios, though the internet gossip that proliferated stated that he was in constant battle with the studio on his vision vs. their vision, which would explain why re-shoots were done for nearly a year. Needless to say, this is a common problem in the business; Richard Donner was fired before finishing SUPERMAN II and was replaced by a director who knew nothing about superheroes and wasn’t a Superman fan at all. Liman does continue on as an executive proucer, and thankfully his replacement manages to continue the series with conviction.

The new director at the helm is Paul Greengrass, whose one major credit before being hired was the film BLOODY SUNDAY, which was a chilling dramatization of the 1972 clash between British soldiers and Irish civil rights workers; a triumph of independent filmmaking and a painstaking recreation of the events before and after the clash, the film garnered critical and commercial praise equally. While Greengrass didn’t seem ideal at the time to take over THE BOURNE SUPREMACY, he manages to give the film his own style and it works, despite the fact that the tone was radically different than IDENTITY. Tony Gilroy once again wrote the screenplay, and while he did read the books by this time, he still opted to pen another loose adaptation; though purists will no doubt object, this Bourne still packs a wallop, with some well-choreographed fight scenes and---in my opinion---one of the greatest car chases ever filmed. Yes, I said EVER, even going along side the classic chases in BULLITT and THE FRENCH CONNECTION. Overall, however, something seemed to be missing, making this just a notch below its predecessor.

******************************************************************
REVENGE IS A DISH THAT IS BEST SERVED COLD
******************************************************************

The film opens up in Goa, India where Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) has awakened to a series of nightmares that has been haunting him for awhile, which are reflections of his past life before he got amnesia. One of those nightmares involves the now-dead Alexander Conklin (Chris Cooper, reprising his role without credit) who is briefing him on an assignment he must complete. Bourne has been living in exile in India for awhile now his girlfriend Marie (Franka Potente), though unbeknownst to him, an incident occurs involving the murder of several CIA agents over stolen Russian documents. The man responsible is named Kirill (Karl Urban), who leaves fingerprints of Bourne at the scene, thus making the CIA believe that he is responsible. Kirill is then ordered by his superior for a new task: terminating Bourne, and so he goes down to India to complete his mission---however, he accidentally shoots and kills Marie, thinking it was really Bourne.

During this time at the CIA headquarters, Pamela Landy (Joan Allen) is now in charge of the investigation as to what happened to her men at the failed operation and is determined to capture Bourne by any means necessary. When she is given access to the now-defunct Treadstone files, this infuriates the leader of the project, Ward Abbott (Brian Cox), thus leading to a battle over what to do about Bourne, and so calls upon Nicky (Julia Stiles) to use as bait, since she is the only inactive member left from Treadstone. As for Bourne, he is not so much concerned as proving his innocence to the CIA…he is only seeking revenge against the man responsible for murdering the woman he loved.

******************************************************************
A CLAUSTROPHIC CAMERA & A DARKER DAMON
******************************************************************

While Tony Gilroy’s screenplay does borrow certain elements from Ludlum’s 1986 follow-up to “The Bourne Identity,” very little of the story actually transfers to film, which may upset some of you who are Ludlum fans. However, the simple truth is that all of the Bourne series are set in the Cold War-era, and I think Gilroy made a valiant effort to at least keep the spirit of the books. However, there is also something askew when he decides to remove one character who we so cared about from the first film: Marie is indeed shot and killed, and to me at least, it was very difficult to accept. (P.S. In the book, Marie is kidnapped, not killed!). However, it also seemed more believable also that this was the only possible way that Bourne would resume his spy tactics and go back into action; he is the same character, but now he is more quiet and controlled, as the search for his identity is put on hold to get vengeance for Marie’s death. Do we care about his character and root for him now because of his tragedy or simply by default? That’s ultimately up to all of you, though I think it gave his character more direction, if not more appeal.

You can tell the directing style is different because of one element, which no doubt annoyed some viewers: the shaky camera. It seems like the same people that complained about this were the same people who were pissed off at THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT: it made them noxious while watching it. Personally, I didn’t have that problem, and I actually embraced the change, simply because it almost felt like the viewer was a “fly on the wall” watching the fights and car chases explode on screen. The action may not have been so by-the-numbers as Doug Liman had done so expertly well in the original, though I believe it gave the piece a more realistic and effective edge. Greengrass has proven himself to be a master time and time again, and I think his approach was awesome---and it worked even better with his next film UNITED 93, which I thought was the best film of 2006. Cinematographer Oliver Wood has returned from THE BOURNE IDENTITY, and he obviously had no complaints about capturing the action while holding the camera more frequently. As I said before, that chase sequence that was filmed in snowy Moscow was both eye-popping and unforgettable; Greengrass and Wood both deserve credit for filming it in such a taut, bruising manner.

As for Matt Damon, it took me awhile for me to not only accept him but also root for his character in the first film; in THE BOURNE SUPREMACY, I was way more comfortable with him, and he grows nicely into the character of Jason Bourne with this second outing. Take another look at the scene where he is interrogated at the airport, where he shows no movement or reaction to the questions by security; when he knows his interrogator is vulnerable, he makes his move without warning. Unlike the first film, where he was coming to terms with his situation, here is like a cold-blooded shark with only one thing on his agenda…and he refuses to allow anything (or anyone) stand in his way. I think the reduction of significant dialogue actually benefits the character, and Damon once again shows he can be riveting, though also believable and human. Admittedly, he is the number one reason why I’m so anxious to see THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM, the third film coming out soon.

******************************************************************
DID BOURNE INSPIRE THE NEW BOND?
******************************************************************

Franka Potente makes a welcome (if disappointingly brief) return as Marie, though the moments she is onscreen made me smile; her absence is relieved (somewhat) by the strong presence of Joan Allen, who is incredibly good as Pamela Landy. Allen is one of my favorite actresses, and I’m pleased that is she is no longer typecast as the wife; since 2000’s THE CONTENDER (which she should have won the Oscar for dammit!), she has become more in demand than ever, and she brings all of her characters to life with striking clarity and professionalism. (On a side note, even at 50, she still remains quite sexy!) The scenes in which she goes head to head with Brian Cox (who returns from the first film as Ward Abbott) are some of the best in the picture, and Cox matches her with his sinister attitude. Also returning from the first film is Julia Stiles, who is given more dialogue (and purpose) this time around as Nicky, as well as Gabriel Mann as Danny Zorn, one of the key CIA players. However, the one that makes the strongest impression next to Allen is Karl Urban, as the ruthless killer-for-hire Kirill; for a man who never smiles once in the whole picture, he certainly haunting and one you don’t want to screw with.

Now, I’m going to present to you all a theory which I think is difficult to ignore; while Ludlom’s spy is 100 degrees different than James Bond, I firmly believe after watching THE BOURNE SUPREMACY again that it was responsible for inspiring the Bond’ producers to make the new film CASINO ROYALE more serious and tough. Granted, Bond’s character has always been that way in the books, though it’s true that the Bond series was at a low point when THE BOURNE IDENTITY debuted in 2002. In the Pierce Brosnan era, the action scenes seemed to get more and more mechanical with each film, and the humor/wisecracks had become cheesier. Humor in the Bourne films is kept at a minimum, particularly in the second one, where the story was so dark and moody that humor would have tainted it; plus, while both Bourne and Bond tend to travel extensively, the Bourne films I think use the locales more extensively. Either way, I firmly believe that the Bond producers learned a few lessons from the Bourne films, and thus decided to go back to the character’s roots and present to us a leaner, meaner, and flawed Bond with CASINO ROYALE with Daniel Craig. Anyone disagree?

All in all, while THE BOURNE SUPREMACY comes off as a slick, slam-bang sequel (which moves at breakneck speed), the killing off of Marie’s character sort of makes it a downer; still, the climax after the Moscow car chase does have an emotional resonance. For the most part, I think Greengrass’ direction is first class, and while Gilroy’s script is admirable, he just cannot seem to match it with the first one. Damon is really the drawing card to the film’s success, and Allen makes a great addition to the cast. As for the DVD, there is a commentary track by Paul Greengrass, who gives insight into his style of directing and how he approached the project with carefulness after the firing of Liman. There are also several documentaries and deleted scenes, none of which are noteworthy. The DVD is available from Amazon for only 7 GBP; If you buy the new 3-disc BOURNE “files,” it includes a special sneak preview of THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM. Thanks for reading, and hope to see you all at the theater next Friday for release of the much-anticipated final chapter in this great series. Chris :) 

...less