A couple of years ago Matt Damon starred in a reasonably good thriller called The Bourne Identity, and last night it was on Sky Movies so I watched it again. I liked this thriller based on the Robert Ludlem novel (and previously filmed some years ago with Dr Kildare himself) because it had a believable plot that didn’t pander completely to a simpleton audience. The characters were good, and the action was set entirely in continental Europe.
The same is nearly also true of it’s sequel, The Bourne Supremacy. Matt Damon and several of the previous film’s characters are back – for varying lengths of time. Last time around the film was directed by Doug Liman who made Swingers and Go. At the time it seemed like an odd choice for an action-adventure movie like this, but he definitely added something to it.
This time out we have Paul Greengrass who seems like an even odder choice with his background in British docudramas and the like. But he turns out to be an even classier director and the film as a real raw edge to it. The car chase feels very real, and the fight scenes too. Much of the action is shot with handheld cameras (without Steadicam) and at times the cutting is so sharp and fast it’s difficult to see what’s going on. (Admittedly this wasn’t helped by the poor projection at my local multiplex with saw the first few adds projected on the ceiling rather than the screen, and a distracting “blob” moving around the projector lens throughout the film).
A sequel that’s certainly better than the original, and I’d echo those people who’ve already helpfully suggested that Greengrass be signed up immediately for the next Bond film. Personally, I’m looking forward to the next of these – I believe that there are at least a couple more available…