The Bourne Supremacy

Review by Richard Lee

Universal Studios / 2004 / 108 Minutes / Rated PG-13
Street Date: December 7, 2004

Specifications:
-DVD-Video
-DVD-9
-Region 1

Aspect Ratio:
-2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen

Audio:
-English 5.1
-Espanol 5.1
-Francais 5.1
-Feature Commentary with Director Paul Greengrass

Subtitle Options:
-English
-Espanol
-Francais
-None

Main Menu:
-Play
-Scenes
-Bonus Features
-Languages

Bonus Features:
-Explosive Deleted Scenes
-Matching Identities: Casting
-Keeping It Real
-Blowing Things Up
-On the Move with Jason Bourne
-Bourne to Be Wild: Fight Training
-Crash Cam: Racing Through the Streets of Moscow
-The Go-Mobile Revs Up the Action
-Anatomy of a Scene: The Explosive Bridge Chase Scene
-Scoring with John Powell
-Feature Commentary with Director Paul Greengrass 
-Cast and Filmmakers
-DVD Credits
-DVD-ROM
The sequel to the most rented DVD of 2003, "The Bourne Identity", "The Bourne Supremacy" is the second movie based on Robert Ludlum's novels dealing with amnesiac undercover hitman, Jason Bourne. Played by Matt Damon, this movie begins sometime after the end of the previous film, with Jason and Marie, Franka Potente, seemingly living a peaceful existence in a beach town in India. But it isn't long until they are pursued by a Russian assassin, Kirill, played by "Lord of the Rings" Karl Urban. With his cover blown, Jason goes globe-trotting to Italy, Germany, and Russia to find out who still wants him dead, leading to a conspiracy reaching all the way back to America and the CIA.

The first movie "The Bourne Identity" was one of those rare incidences where the box office receipts were average, but found its audience with the DVD release; thereby making the "The Bourne Supremacy" much more eagerly anticipated and more successful at the box office. Director Paul Greengrass takes over the directing chair from Doug Liman, and where the previous movie had more action, this sequel is higher on the suspense level with second half literally one long chase scene. Veteran actors Brian Cox and Joan Allen play well off each other as CIA directors with different agendas. Julia Stiles makes a return appearance as Nicky, a CIA operative.

Picture Quality:

No vibrant colors here, hues are subdued and edges soft with emphasis on greens and grays. Black levels are put to the test as there are plenty of night scenes, indoor scenes; basically scenes in the dark. Camera work looks mostly hand-held as there is constant movement. This must stem from the director's documentary film background; his most notable being "Bloody Sunday".

Audio Quality:

5.1 surround field is active with a driving music soundtrack propelling the suspense. Demonstration highlights: 41:00 - Hand to hand fight scene; 87:49 - Car chase through the streets of Moscow.

Bonus Features:

"Explosive Deleted Scenes" include footage that would have slowed down the pacing of the movie; by the way, there are no explosions. Numerous featurettes deal with the cast, the director, the film's one explosion sequence, location shooting, hand to hand fight choreography, the car chase sequence, the go-mobile putting more realism in the car chase sequence, the foot chase sequence, the film's music composer John Powell. Lastly, there are cast and filmmakers credits, DVD production credits, and DVD-ROM capabilities.