Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

The Bourne Supremacy Blu-ray Movie Review

Series fans may be divided, but I couldn't be more sure...

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown January 24, 2010

After co-authoring an autobiography that elicited the wrath of the British government, filmmaker Paul Greengrass attracted international acclaim with Bloody Sunday, a project that began as a television movie but soon earned its way into the Berlin Film Festival and Sundance (winning a prestigious award at each stop). It wasn't long before Hollywood came calling, budding franchise in hand. He accepted, then proceeded to do the last thing fans of The Bourne Identity expected: change the tone, tenor, and intensity of their beloved series debut. The criticism his Bourne Supremacy received in various circles was inevitable -- some complained about his use of hand-held cameras, others about his emphasis on character over plot, still others about his film being burdened with too much plot -- but the simultaneous praise and rave reviews it nevertheless garnered were well deserved. Further steeping mainstay Jason Bourne in reality, injecting kinetic energy into every shot and scene, and aggressively exploring the dark depths of his protagonist's fragmented mind, Greengrass produced a brazen evolution of the Bourne mythos; one I consider to be the most captivating, satisfying, and fully realized film of the trilogy.

"What were my words? What did I say? I said leave me alone."

After finding some measure of peace with the newfound love of his life (Franka Potente), former CIA assassin Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) is thrust back into the fray after being accused of murdering two agents working in Berlin. Determined to expose the real killers and clear his name, Bourne goes on the offensive, using a manhunt a diligent CIA Deputy Director named Pamela Landy (Joan Allen) initiates to gather the intelligence he needs. It doesn't take him long to figure out that the whole mess traces back to Operation Treadstone; yep, the same secret project whose skilled assassins tried and failed to eliminate him in The Bourne Identity. While he thought Treadstone had been shut down and its operatives disbanded, it seems someone is still pulling the strings and giving orders. As he winds his way up the chain, he has to contend with Landy and her search, deal with the interference of a high-ranking CIA official (Brian Cox), survive the attacks of a number of assailants (Karl Urban and Marton Csokas among them), and gain viable information from a low-level Treadstone agent (Julia Styles). More importantly, he has to come to terms with the formative events of his career (that he still can't remember) and try to understand who or what he once was.

While there are some who complain that The Bourne Supremacy merely rehashes the upbeats and beatdowns of The Bourne Identity, Greengrass' film couldn't be more different. When director Doug Liman introduced Bourne, the once-and-future amnesic superspy was a shell of a man. Sure, Ludlum's titular hero quickly proved himself to be both capable and calculating, but Jason spent his first outing on the run, scrambling to uncover his identity, learn the rules of an intangible game, and best any assassin who came gunning for his head. Greengrass delivers a more settled, more stable Bourne; a relentless, preemptive weapon who alters the game to his liking and manipulates each player into whatever position he deems fit. Though self-discovery remains a central focus of the story, Jason all but abandons his quest for identity in favor of one for penance; for some semblance of redemption. His is a wounded spirit suffering from the sting of long-forgotten sins it can't hope to remember. Sure, the madness and mysteries that emerge are extensions of his past, but the majority of Jason's time is spent looking forward, his eyes transfixed on a goal he steadily defines as he pieces together clues pointing to a greater conspiracy. Even when he gains the upper hand, the story continues on, serving up an emotional climax that supersedes any car chase, explosion, or gunfight Greengrass could have selected to cap his endgame. In many ways, The Bourne Supremacy is obsessed with the internal mechanics of those who dwell in a deadly world. By contrast, The Bourne Identity is more akin to a traditional spy-vs-spy lark; one that examines the journey of its repentant killer more than the nature of his wandering soul.

But it's Greengrass' unruly cameras -- unsettled and impenitent as they are -- that lend urgency to Bourne's mission, momentum to his plight, and volatility to his trials; it's the director's disregard for traditional filmmaking techniques that make his seemingly erratic vision so arresting; it's his actors' willingness to sacrifice vanity in service of character and tone that makes their performances so resonant. Conventional shots are few and far between. Greengrass simply captures chases and conversations as they naturally unfold (something Liman experimented with in The Bourne Identity but never fully embraced). His cameras dart about a panicked room, hurtle through an angry crowd, bob and weave between combatants, shake and rattle in the front seat of a rickety car, all in a concerted effort to immerse viewers in the action and intrigue spilling out of their screens. It's a visceral, absorbing tool Greengrass uses to great effect, oftentimes in surprising ways. Likewise, Damon and his castmates spring to life, delivering startling, deceptively complex performances I could devote an entire review to dissecting. Unshackled from the telltale blocking and meticulous framing that tends to dampen the flow of a scene, the actors are able to divert their complete attention to the essence of the moment rather than the director's needs or the cinematographer's demands. Without having to worry about catching the perfect light, slinking into the shadiest shadow, entering or exiting a scene in just the right way, or barreling down a flight of stairs in a manner suited to the shot at hand, they're given the unique opportunity to tackle each obstacle as naturally and sincerely as possible.

The end result speaks for itself. The Bourne Supremacy doesn't adhere to any specific genre; it's too cerebral to be an actioner, too explosive to be a drama, too restrained to be a thriller, too grounded to be a spy spree, and far too ruthless to wrap everything up in a neat-n-tiny bow by film's end. Blood is spilled and rage ensues, adversaries are uncovered and potential allies are identified, but Bourne's ultimate solace is found in the last place he expects. Through it all, Greengrass' prowess as a filmmaker and ingenuity as an artist make Supremacy an electrifying jolt to the senses that shouldn't be brushed aside or shrugged off. It certainly isn't for everyone, but it's certainly for me.

The Bourne Supremacy Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

No hyperbolic bones about it: The Bourne Supremacy's 1080p/VC-1 transfer is stunning. Color and contrast are impeccable -- be it the orange flash of an explosion, the sun-seared wares of a marketplace in India, or the bleak iron hues of a snowy Moscow morn -- and skintones, regardless of Oliver Wood's interior or exterior lighting, remain exceedingly convincing throughout. Blacks are deep and inky (albeit a bit too oppressive on occasion) and shadows are natural and absorbing. Better still, Greengrass' endless shaky-cam shots rarely take their toll on the technical image. It's next to impossible to snap a solid screenshot of an action sequence, sure, but it all looks amazing in motion. Detail remains sharp and rewarding no matter how intense Bourne's hunt becomes; textures range from refined to tempered to downright striking; and delineation is faithful to the director's at-times obscured visuals. And unlike the Blu-ray edition of The Bourne Identity, the presentation isn't at the mercy of contrast inconsistencies, edge enhancement, or errant artifacts. A veneer of moderate grain emerges as an integral component of Greengrass' style, but unintentional noise, macroblocking, aliasing, DNR, and other distracting anomalies are MIA. Only negligible crushing, every instance of which seems inherent to Wood's photography, undermines Universal's near-perfect transfer.

The Bourne Supremacy Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Universal's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track hits hard and hits often, leaving its mark regardless of how quiet or chaotic a scene becomes. Bourne's questions, whether muttered or barked, dominate the center channel, Landy's orders are crisp and clear, and Cox's measured snarls are as rich as they are autocratic. Moreover, gunshots erupt from every channel, encircling the listener at every opportunity and enhancing the realism of the already immersive soundfield. The furious cries of protesters in Berlin surge and relent as Bourne darts in and away. A traffic jam idles nearby as our wounded superspy stumbles through a crowd in Moscow. The dense foliage of a Goan jungle flap by as Bourne and Marie flee a pursuing assassin. But it isn't just rear speaker activity that proves itself to be aggressive and involving. LFE output is weighty and robust, embracing the roars of red-lined engines, the thunder of head-on collisions, and the muffled whumps of gut punches. And John Powell's score? It hurtles along with the overwhelming momentum of a doomed locomotive, its diligent rhythms driving the film along with fervor. To top it all off, dynamics are brazen, directionality is decisive and precise, and pans are transparent. By the time Moby's "Extreme Ways" announces the credits, The Bourne Supremacy has made its presence more than known, and fans will respond in kind.

The Bourne Supremacy Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The individual Blu-ray release of The Bourne Supremacy boasts the same generous supplemental package as its box set counterpart, the only difference being that it's all housed on a dual-sided BD-59 "Flipper" disc (Side A is the equivalent of a traditional BD-50, Side B is a DVD layer that contains a standard definition copy of the film).

• U-Control Features: Like The Bourne Identity, the Blu-ray edition of The Bourne Supremacy includes three U-Control features. "The Bourne Dossier" provides on-the-fly CIA intelligence about the characters and there whereabouts, and a handful of "Bourne Orientation" options break away from the film to serve up Maximum Movie Mode-esque PiP segments brimming with trivia and additional videos. But the real meat of the U-Control package comes in the form of a "Picture-in-Picture" experience; one that delivers a steady stream of extensive behind-the-scenes content, endless interviews, animatics and storyboards, thoughtful analysis of the film and its tone from key members of the cast and crew, and much, much more. Best of all, there's hardly any break in the flow of content spilling from its depths. Unlike Identity's PiP track (which only placed content on eight of the film's twenty chapters), Supremacy's track has enough material to fill out every chapter. The only relative oddity? Since the track was initially available on the HD DVD release of the film, producer Frank Marshall's introduction -- in which he describes the experience as being "exclusive to this HD DVD" -- becomes an amusing time stamp. Maybe it's just me, but I got a kick out of it.
• Audio Commentary: While director Paul Greengrass' commentary is reminiscent of a stream-of-consciousness exercise, that isn't exactly a bad thing. His thoughts are certainly sparse at times -- he gets caught up watching his efforts unfold -- but he shares invaluable information, particularly when it comes to the characters' motivations, the adjustments he made to the tone Liman established in The Bourne Identity, and the manner in which he approached locations, editing, cinematography, plotting, action scenes, and counterintelligence sequences. In the end, it's a welcome addition to the release, even if it doesn't adhere to the traditional letter and spirit of commentary law.
• Matching Identities (SD, 5 minutes): A surprisingly thoughtful featurette that digs into the character of Jason Bourne and Supremacy's casting choices. It gets a tad promotional before all is said and done, but it's still better than the usual crop of EPKs.
• Keeping It Real (SD, 5 minutes): Story and drive, tone and atmosphere, photography and shooting style, there's little doubt Greengrass shook up the status quo. Join the cast and crew, as well as the director himself, as they share their thoughts on his contributions.
• Blowing Things Up (SD, 4 minutes): An all-too-brief look at the tenor of one of the film's most realistic action beats, a thrilling blink-and-you'll-miss-it explosion accomplished with innovative practical effects.
• On the Move with Jason Bourne (SD, 5 minutes): Tour the international locations -- Berlin, Moscow, and Goa chief among them -- Greengrass chose for the film.
• Bourne to Be Wild (SD, 4 minutes): The film's fight training, choreography, and stuntwork is quickly explored in yet another engaging but truncated featurette.
• Crash Cam: Racing Through the Streets of Moscow (SD, 6 minutes): Learn how Greengrass and crew shot the film's jaw-dropping Russian chase sequence.
• The Go-Mobile Revs Up the Action (SD, 7 minutes): An initially jarring, ultimately satisfying introduction to the rig Greengrass' cameramen used to capture many of the film's close-car shots.
• The Bourne Mastermind (SD, 5 minutes): Like The Bourne Identity, Supremacy provides a glimpse into the life and mind of Robert Ludlum, the author of the original Bourne novels.
• The Bourne Diagnosis (SD, 6 minutes): An examination of the sequel and how it upped the ante after The Bourne Identity.
• Scoring with John Powell (SD, 5 minutes): As a score and soundtrack junkie, I adore these sorts of featurettes. They're just always too short.
• Anatomy of a Scene (SD, 5 minutes): Cast and crew dissect Supremacy's bridge chase scene.
• Deleted Scenes (SD, 11 minutes): A decent but dry collection of deletions and extensions, most of which were wisely cut from the final film.
• My Scenes Bookmarking
• BD-Live Functionality

The Bourne Supremacy Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A riveting evolution in every way, The Bourne Supremacy is a pulse-pounding actioner and a cerebral spy thriller. While it has divided franchise fans into two camps -- those who appreciate director Paul Greengrass' frenetic visual style and those who need to pop two Excedrin Migraine capsules every time they look at the screen -- those who adore everything his intensity brings to the Bourne series will find Supremacy to be nothing short of a masterstroke. It's even better on Blu-ray. Universal's release boasts an exceptional video transfer, a remarkable DTS-HD Master Audio track, and a number of high-quality special features. Casual fans and diehards will be thoroughly pleased with their purchase.