| The
Bourne Supremacy Robert Ludlum's mysterious United States
government assassin again returns to the big screen from what some assumed and
hoped was death. Again we have a complex plot with twists and doublecrosses. Again
the infallible and deadly assassin is pitted against the agency that made him
what he is.
 CAPSULE:
Robert Ludlum's mysterious United States government
assassin again returns from what some assumed and hoped was death. Again we have
a complex plot with twists and doublecrosses. Again the infallible and deadly
assassin is pitted against the agency that made him what he is. Joan Allen and
Brian Cox play senior intelligence officials trying to track down the man most
dangerous to all sides, the loose cannon agent Bourne. Dizzying editing and camera
work will bother some, and the sheer complexity of the telling will confuse more
people. Rating: low +2 (-4 to +4) or 7/10
THE BOURNE SUPREMACY is a sequel
to THE BOURNE IDENTITY with Matt Damon again playing Jason Bourne, the enigmatic
United States government assassin whose amnesia makes him as mysterious to himself
as to anyone else. In some senses Jason Bourne is the thinking man's James Bond.
Bourne is very good at what he does for a living. Unlike James Bond there is no
evidence that he is good at baccarat, skiing, sky diving, skin diving, or skeet
shooting. Beautiful women do not fall at his feet. 
The skills he has are those that an assassin really needs. He knows what
to do in a fight. He is a good driver when he has to be. His ability to turn objects
around him into weapons is intriguing. And most important he can think three moves
ahead of his opponent. He makes very few mistakes. But as in the last film his
opponents are frequently those from his own organization who made him the way
he is.
The story is set against the backdrop of several different countries:
the United States, India, Italy, Germany, and Russia. Jason Bourne has gotten
away from his old dirty business and has gone into mellow retirement in Goa, India.
Like Michael Corleone just when he thought he was out they drag him back in. There
is an attempt to kill Bourne and his girlfriend is killed instead. Why
does his old agency not just let sleeping dogs lie? In turns out there is a plot
against Bourne that will again get him and the agency stalking each other. The
camera seems always anxious to show us stacks of passports that are part of the
standard quick-change identity kit. Bourne and the story seem to constantly flit
from one country to the next with just the right passport he needs.
Even more than the last film the torrent of names and plot twists will be hard
to comprehend on a single viewing. Names fly back and forth at times and plot
complications come even faster. Not that there is much doubt all along as to whom
the real villain will eventually turn out to be. The real mystery is not whodunit
but just what is happening to whom and why. More than once my audience gasped
in awe at the coups Bourne is able to accomplish, even if he is just a fictional
character. Occasionally Bourne tries things that would seem to be not humanly
possible, e.g., giving mouth to mouth resuscitation when totally submerged in
water.
Supporting Damon are Joan Allen who so well plays women of iron
will. Also there is Brian Cox who is always watchable is Brian Cox who generally
has a subtle menacing manner. Cox is probably tired of having people note he was
the first Hannibal Lecter. I will point out how good he was as Hogan in the Sharpe
series. Chris Cooper has an uncredited cameo reprising his role as Conklin.
What some will find off-putting is the style of the editing and the camera
work. There is frequent use of hand-held camera combined with a staccato of short
jumpy edits that will add to the dizzying effect of the complex story. Frequently
the viewer will find that it is not clear what some half-second shot is showing.
The effect of the editing and the over-fluidity of the camera for a moment puts
us in the rapid-fire mind of Bourne. The climax of the film is one of the most
exciting car chases we have seen in quite a while that is done without recourse
to computer graphics.
This is a film with fast action and some clever
ideas. I rate it a low +2 on the -4 to +4 scale or 7/10
Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 2004 Mark R. Leeper
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OTHER CONTENT - September 2004
Steve Cockayne Interview
Steve talks about his novel Wanderers and Islanders, being influenced by C.S. Lewis and Herman Hesse, and working as a TV cameraman, a puppeteer, and dabbling in hypnotherapy
(AUTHOR INTERVIEWS)
Tanith Lee Interview
Author Tanith speaks with SFF literary agent John Jarrold about how people are the starting point for her fiction, tackling pirates with Piratica, and being influenced by Rider Haggard, Viereck and Eldridge.
(AUTHOR INTERVIEWS)
Eurocon 2004
Radi Radev reports from this year's European Science Fiction Convention. While the convention was first created in 1972 in Triest, Italy, this was the first year it's been hosted in Bulgaria.
(CON REPORTS)
Westercon 2004
Mark reports on the movies at Westercon. The trailers seemed to be better accepted by the audience than they have been at recent Worldcons, while the presentation was a little more polished - and the films seemed of a higher quality.
(CON REPORTS)
Code 46
Mark discovers that Code 46 is a very odd piece of science fiction. It is a film with some very nice material that tries some interesting ideas, but it fails to capture the viewer. Its flaws outweigh its virtues.
(FILM REVIEWS)
The Bourne Supremacy
Robert Ludlum's mysterious United States government assassin again returns to the big screen from what some assumed and hoped was death. Again we have a complex plot with twists and doublecrosses. Again the infallible and deadly assassin is pitted against the agency that made him what he is.
(FILM REVIEWS)
Offworld Report: Science Fiction and Fantasy: September 2004
Interviews with Keith Brooke, Geoff Ryman, Gerry Anderson and the co-producer of the new Sapphire and Steel series, short fiction by John Grant and Walter Jon Williams, and Locus Magazine's excellent primer on genre audiobooks.
(NEWS)
Offworld Report: Weird Science: September 2004
The latest tiny flying robot, why Martian astronauts may need replacement body
tissue, harvesting helium-3 from the Moon, the threat to humanity from giant tsunamis and super volcanoes, and the possibility of life on Venus.
(NEWS)
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