Bourne Again

I don't remember what my take on the Bourne Identity was - I think I liked it but wasn't blown away. I just watched the second in the franchise, the Bourne Supremacy. I've got to say, I'm pretty impressed.

I've expressed my love for modern kinetic action films, for ex. Run Lola Run. This is another, full of fast cuts, handheld shakey-cam, and long action scenes, and Franka Potenta. She's just great here, although older and softer than in RLR. Matt Damon is also pretty easy on the eyes, his face a great slab of torment and angst.

I like the way they manage to get complex ideas across effortlessly. Since Damon's Bourne is a super-spy, he can instantly size up a situation and jump into action. The movie lets you in on it, so when Bourne sees a guy and immediately knows he is a tail, you figure it out at the same time. When Bourne tells fellow assassin Zorn that his unloaded Zorn's gun, Zorn tosses it away and says, "I thought it felt a little light". He doesn't test it by pulling the trigger. He just figures it out. When the movie lets us follow these scenes, it makes us feel smart and pulls us deeper into the action.

So:

• Action, energy, movement, fast editing
• Complex, intelligent, emotionally engaging plotlines that you can still follow
• = Good Movie!

On to Bourne Ultimatum!