d: Paul Greengrass
w: Tony Gilroy
The Bourne Identity was a surprising hit, a solid action film with an intriguing story, an interesting take on espionage, and lots of political intrigue. The Bourne Supremacy focuses more tightly on Jason Bourne as a character which makes it a successful sequel. In fact, the story even surpasses that of the first film.
But regardless it’s still disposable entertainment. There’s not a lot to ponder about this film, it’s its own self-contained universe with few loose ends dangling about. But the character and his actions, his forgotten memories and his motivations are all a bit deeper than the normal Dirty Harry or James Bond, which makes Bourne a welcome repeat at the theatre.
The direction is really the only drop in quality from the first film, not that Paul Greengrass isn’t capable - he does a fine job - but his fight sequences are just a little murkier, harder to see, a little too in-your-face and his chase sequence is excellent but still falls short of Doug Liman’s effort. Good fun.