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Volume 69, Issue 156,
Thursday, July 22, 2004
Arts & Entertainment
'Supremacy' has familiar identity Spy sequel's utilization of old-fashioned action sequences does little to save plot By Tony Hernandez
The shadowy world of international espionage and super-secret assassination squads created by writer Robert Ludlum will be once again on the big screen, following the superhuman amnesiac/American spy Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) in his quest to discover his elusive past. The Bourne Supremacy, directed by Paul Greengrass, picks up two years after The Bourne Identity. Bourne, after quitting his duties with the CIA, has been living in hiding with girlfriend Marie (Franka Potente) in the small beach town of Gao, India. But as in most spy movies, those running away from the spy world are eventually brought back into it. With Bourne, he discovers he has once again become a target and while being chased by an assassin, Bourne's love from the first movie, Marie, becomes a victim. Thus begins Bourne's quest for revenge and search for knowledge of his secret past. To make matters worse, Bourne's would-be killer framed Bourne for the murder of a CIA operative, thus creating a massive internationally coordinated manhunt. The movie continues in a fast-paced game of cat and mouse with Bourne traveling from country to country in and out of train stations, taxis and buses trying to stay a step ahead of not only the CIA, but also ahead of his would-be killers of Russian origin. The CIA team searching for Bourne includes familiar characters from the first film including Nicky (Julia Stiles) and Danny Zorn (Gabriel Mann) who are under the direction of Agent Pamela Landy (Joan Allen). Butting heads with Landy is her colleague Brian Cox (Ward Abbott) who is obsessed with eliminating Bourne and closing the chapter of his past with the CIA. Outside the CIA, a rival assassin, Kirril (Karl Urban), whose alliances remain unclear and shady throughout the movie, also chases Bourne. The Bourne Supremecy does a good job portraying a post-Cold War spy world, or at least one that will seem believable to viewers. The movie takes place in major European cities known for their roles in Cold War espionage such as Paris, Berlin and Moscow. There are no computer-generated visual effects -- the film relies on old-fashioned choreographed cinematography, which is refreshing compared to the rest of this summer's action movies. Bourne does a lot of hand-to-hand combat to reveal just how deadly a spy can be without a gun, and most of the movie is believable in terms of how Bourne finds the information he seeks in his quest to solve the mysteries of his past. Viewers, however, may feel a little overwhelmed with the bouncing camera style of Greengrass, who used this style with success in his last movie Bloody Sunday. Bouncing cameras in fight scenes as well as car chases confuse the viewer on what may actually be happening in the movie; one chase scene through the streets of Moscow seemed a bit confusing. All in all, the plot is eventually developed well enough, though watching the first movie will be a must before venturing to see this film. In comparison to the many espionage movies out there, it rates as average in terms of the complexity of characters and plot. Nothing new can be seen from Greengrass' espionage world that hasn't already been seen before, but because of the cast's strong performances, Supremacy remains entertaining. The Bourne Supremacy Rated: PG-13 Starring: Matt Damon, Joan Allen Universal Pictures Verdict: More like The Bourne Mediocrity.
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