By Frederic Germay
Unfortunately, I had never seen nor heard about the first film in this trilogy, "The Bourne Identity," until just a short while ago. Having nothing better to do at the time, I was surfing through channels on TV and I came across what looked like an interesting program. The first thing I noticed was the excellent scoring -- never had I heard such an engaging soundtrack for an action film since the "Lord of the Rings." Thrilled, I continued to watch, quite wary that I was quickly becoming enamored with the film's unique style and excellent acting. "The Bourne Identity" went on to be one of my favorite films of all time. The next day I was surfing the internet and I uncovered that there was a sequel as well. I immediately bought it, and I discovered that "The Bourne Supremacy" was a triumph over the original.
Based on the spy novels of Robert Ludlum (who also happens to be an executive producer on the film), the Bourne trilogy follows an ex-super agent called Jason Bourne. Played by Academy Award winner Matt Damon, Bourne awakes in the ocean during the first film with zero memory of who he is. Soon he uncovers that he has heightened senses, incredibly strength, and an extraordinary wealth of fighting skills. Bourne also unearths that the United States government gave his unnatural powers to him, and that he was supposed to be a highly dependable assassin.
All throughout the "Identity," Bourne uncovers how the government sees him as a failed experiment and they try to eliminate him. Bourne eventually eludes them and faces his opponents, other government-trained assassins, as well. Throughout the "Supremacy," Bourne once again rages against the government, in a way establishing his supremacy from them. This time he unearths more about his killing past, and tries to find the daughter of a family he killed. What separates Bourne from the other assassins is his unwillingness to kill, and that is shown even against his powerful opponents as he walks away from them, allowing them to live.
In "The Bourne Ultimatum," the allegedly final installment in the trilogy, Bourne finally uncovers who he is. The film starts out with a meeting between a journalist and a high-ranking government official. The informant gives the reporter exclusive information concerning Bourne, and the project that officiated him, 'Treadstone.' The government soon finds out what is going on and seeks to silence the reporter and the official, whereas Bourne attempts to save them so he can finally discover who he is. The scenario leads to another high-octane clash between the government and Bourne, which is even more electrifying than in the previous films.
Matt Damon gives his usually great acting work, but I believe the best performances of the film belong to Joan Allen. Her recurring character, Pam Landy, brings an important touch to the film, and I believe that Allen should receive some kind of award for her acting prowess. Despite being outshined by Allen, Damon's performance is award worthy as well. Unfortunately, the Academy doesn't seem to take action-movie acting quite seriously.
Despite the fact that this is an excellent film, it feels as though the movie was almost a little amateur at points. Don't get me wrong, I really respect director Paul Greengrass' vision, but I just felt as though the camera was too fast and shaky at times. Thanks to the constant angle fluctuations, I often felt confused. As for the story line, there doesn't seem to be very much of it. Greengrass tends to overly focus on the intensity of the action and chase scenes to carry the film through. Although this method worked, the action in action films should compliment the story, not be the story. Fortunately, the action was terrifically above that of almost any film this year so far. The superb car chase scene accomplished the difficult task of topping the "Supremacy" car chase.
In the end, this film is definitely worth the price of an admission ticket. Despite the fact that many film series have been destroyed by unnecessary sequels, I honestly think that another "Bourne" film could actually be done well. On another note, I would strongly advise that people watch or re-watch the first two films in this trilogy before watching this one, since the storyline immediately picks up from the ending of the second film. This is the best action film of the year so far. I give it a 9.5/10
