The Bourne Supremacy

MPAA Rated – PG-13
It’s 1:49 Long
A Review by:
The Dude on the Right

The Bourne Supremacy
Movie Stats & Links
Starring: Matt Damon, Franke Potente, Brian Cox, Julia Stiles, Joan Allen
MPAA Rated: PG-13
Released By: Universal Pictures
Release Date: 2004
Kiddie Movie: Not too young.
Date Movie: She might find Matt Damon dreamy, or wonder why you can’t kick everyone’s ass.
Gratuitous Sex: Sadly, no.
Gratuitous Violence: Lots of it, but not gratuitous – it is PG-13.
Action: Lots of chasing going on.
Laughs: A couple of good chuckles.
Memorable Scene: Bourne on the rooftop across from the CIA offices in Berlin.
Memorable Quote: It would give away a good chuckle if I listed it.
Directed By: Paul Greengrass

When “The Bourne Identity” was hitting movie theaters, I thought the trailer looked pretty decent, but really didn’t get that excited about the film. I was so unexcited about the film that I didn’t even go to see it. Then I heard good things about it, and I still didn’t go see it. Finally it came to my cable television channel and I said to myself “Self, let’s give it a shot.” When the movie finished I then said to myself “Self, that was a damn good thriller. I really should have gone to see that in the theater.” This time I was actually excited about the follow-up “The Bourne Supremacy”, and after seeing the film, I was not disappointed.

The first film sets us up with the history of Jason Bourne (Matt Damon). We find out that he is this government trained assassin with amnesia. The movie finishes with Jason telling the government folks to leave him alone or he’s going to bring his wrath to their doorstep. So this film opens with a new CIA lady, Pamela Landy (Joan Allen), running an operation in Berlin that goes horribly wrong, and we see the bad guy placing a fingerprint as evidence, obviously to throw the trail to someone else. Duh, it’s Bourne’s fingerprint. Meanwhile Jason is living with his girlfriend from the first film, Marie (Franke Potente), having nightmares about something in his past, and her trying to help him through it. Then, of course, the bad guy shows up looking for Bourne, Bourne easily spots him, and with a single gunshot Jason finds himself on his way to Berlin to bring his wrath to the government folks. Meanwhile, Landy thinks Bourne killed two of her agents, and now she’s on the hunt for him for all of the wrong reasons, but, as it turns out, it’s actually for the right reason.

Well, I’m not going to go into much more of the story because the whole point of a thriller is to, well, thrill, and of course, give some surprises, so the basic plot is all you need to know going in. With that, is the movie any good? In a word: Yes.

The Dude on the Left still isn’t buying Matt Damon as a super-spy, but for the role of Jason Bourne, I’m finding him dead on. Jason’s not supposed to be a James Bond type, he’s just a normal looking dude who is able to kick some serious ass without knowing why he can do it other than he is some trained government agent. He’s trying to put back the pieces to his life, but other people keep getting in the way.

The movie is filled with a great supporting cast, also. Joan Allen does a nice job as the new CIA lady, Brian Cox is back as Ward, and Julia Stiles returns to her role, and gets used nicely, as Nicky. But the key to this franchise is Damon, and so far the future is looking bright. You don’t have the super-flashy gadgets like a Bond film, but then again, why would Jason have them when he’s not really working for the CIA? But you do get some great chase scenes, and I’ll tell you what, that’s one hell of a tough taxi cab in this film.

If you enjoyed “The Bourne Identity,” odds are you’ll enjoy “The Bourne Supremacy” as well. If you missed the first film, don’t worry that you’ll be lost in the sequel. The film folks to a decent job at bringing you up to speed, but really, all you need to know, is that Jason Bourne is a government trained assassin who has amnesia. For me, “The Bourne Supremacy” gets 4 ½ stars out of 5. It doesn’t get too over the top, it’s got some great chase scenes and some surprises, and the dialogue gives you a chuckle or two to boot.

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

The Bourne Ultimatum

MPAA Rated – PG-13
It’s 1:55 Long
A Review by:
The Dude on the Right

The Bourne Ultimatum
Movie Stats & Links
Starring: Matt Damon, Julia Stiles, David Stratham, Joan Allen
MPAA Rated: PG-13
Released By: Universal Pictures
Release Date: 2007
Kiddie Movie: Leave them at home, this is for teens and above.
Date Movie: If she liked “The Bourne Supremacy” she’ll love this one.
Gratuitous Sex: Nah.
Gratuitous Violence: Lots of fighting but we usually don’t see people die.
Action: From start to finish.
Laughs: Some good chuckles.
Memorable Scene: I loved Jason Bourne leading Simon Ross through the train station.
Memorable Quote: Agent: “He drove off the roof!”
Noah: “What?”
Directed By: Paul Greengrass

Here’s some helpful advice if you are a nosey newspaper dude, have people trying to kill/kidnap you, and the only person helping to keep you alive is a rogue government agent who just beat the crap out of two of the goons – Do exactly what the agent says, do not deviate, do not think you know more than the agent, and do not open a door unless you are told to do so. Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) tried to help the dude, but sadly the newspaper dude thought he could run for safety. What a bonehead!

Anyway, Jason Bourne is back, still trying to find who made him like he is, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a movie as action-packed as “The Bourne Ultimatum” is, ever. The CIA, meanwhile, is still trying to find him, and as in “The Bourne Supremacy,” there are those in the government who need him dead, especially to hide some dirty, little secrets.

It seems in this installment there is a CIA dude, Neil Daniels (Colin Stinton), who doesn’t like the government program “Blackbriar,” which was born out of the “Treadstone” era, and has been leaking some information to a British reporter, Simon Ross (Paddy Considine). Now, because the government is monitoring all of our phone calls, all around the world, for key words, when Simon utters “Blackbriar” on his cell phone little does he realize the degree of spy-dom that he is about to unleash. Within moments phones are tapped, he is being trailed, and now that Jason Bourne has read Simon’s latest installment about himself, Jason enters Simon’s life, trying to save the dude so he can find out about “Blackbriar” and thus, where he came from.

And so “The Bourne Ultimatum” begins traversing the European countryside as Jason looks for Neil, he finds Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles, whom I still have a crush on) in Madrid, the both of them head to Tangier where Neil supposedly is hiding out (and he’s an idiot), an “asset,” a.k.a. assassin, is dispatched to kill Neil, Nicky, and Jason, but Jason will have none of that, well at least not all of that, and in the meantime, back in the states, Noah (David Strathairn), leading the CIA folks in New York City, is pissing the hell out of Pamela Landy (Joan Allen back for more fun) as he crosses a line in the aspects of killing people.

Jason, of course, because we know from the movie trailer, makes his way back to NYC, finds a “friend” in Pam, leads Noah and his people on a couple of wild goose chases, and finally finds out how he became the killing machine he has become.

In following in the tradition of “The Bourne” movie franchise this third installment will give you just about everything you are looking for, and expect, following “The Bourne Supremacy.” You have the sneaky government, with even more internal sneakiness by those thinking they have ultimate power; you have scary technology that can track you anywhere in the world; you have “assets” who lack the skills of the ultimate “asset”; you have car chases that are utterly fantastic and over-the-top; you have action and suspense from start to finish; you get a chuckle or two from some fantastically placed dialogue; and you have Jason Bourne, in ultimate Bourne-ness.

I loved this movie even more so than the “Supremacy” flick. Sure, things were a little over-the-top at times, but the inventiveness (like how Bourne gets into Noah’s safe) eclipsed the previous two, and I liked that Julia Stiles had a larger role in this installment, especially since I’m a stalker of hers.

You will get exactly what you expect in this movie, and then some, because there really isn’t a dull spot from start to finish. The movie starts with Bourne on the run; the movie ends with another movie able to be made if the film folks so choose. Just keep Paul Greengrass directing, keep the writing as we have come to love it, and this franchise can probably continue for a long while.

A great thriller. I’m giving “The Bourne Ultimatum” 5 stars out of 5.

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!