Details
- Title
- The Bourne Supremacy
- Director
- Paul Greengrass
- Cast
- Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Brian Cox, Julia Stiles, Karl Urban.
- Length
- 120 min.
- Released
- 2004
Review
Another adequate but unmemorable entry in Robert Ludlum*'s Bourne chronicles, Supremacy follows Matt Damon as he uglies his way into and out of trouble. Seriously, though, Matt Damon looks like someone beat all of the pretty out of Mark Wahlberg. Who looks like they beat all the pretty out of The New Kids on The Block. Who, if you were paying attention in 1989, won the Cold War.
Which brings us back to Jason Bourne, the superhumanly competent secret agent who casually ties up the Cold War's loose ends while on a jouney of self discovery. Even the other spies in Supremacy spend the bulk of their dialogue marveling over Bourne's espionage skills or grunting as he punches them.
Opting for an almost post-modern total lack of topicality, the bad guys are: the Russians. To be fair to the books, they aren't really new. But is America really ready for a popcorn spy movie dealing with terrorists? Hell, we're barely ready for a popcorn spy movie dealing with Russians.
Brian Cox takes another step forward in his plan to be the bad guy in every Hollywood movie ever made. Carl Urban does a good job as the Englishman valiantly trying to be a Russian. But the movie can't hold on to any of its characters. Those it doesn't kill off just sort of disappear into the nondiegetic night.
When will no-name Hollywood B-list directors (Paul Greengrass) realize that hand-held cinematography is about as hip as Ace of Bace? Without the potential for hipster retro irony. It's just passe. No one thinks it makes your film gritty. We're not impressed. It just reminds us how angry we are that Matt Damon is ugly and we paid ten dollars for bad popcorn.
*Does not spell Murder backwards.
- Rating
- 3/8
- Reviewer
- Pat Jackson
- Published