It's gratifying to know that the spy movie is alive and well with the Bourne series, and I like Matt Damon in this role; however, The Bourne Supremacy has two basic problems: the screenwriting and the direction.

I'd have preferred more psychological drama and less chase; considering that the first hour is almost all chase with almost no plot development, and if you haven't recently viewed The Bourne Identity to refresh yourself on the premise of the film, you'll be at a loss to understand what is going on and why.

I could almost overlook the weak writing if not for Paul Greengrass's directing style. The movie is filmed almost entirely with handheld cameras, super closeups and relentless quick cuts. The result is literally painful to watch; my eyes began to hurt within the first 15 minutes. I wanted to move the camera back a few feet in just about every scene.

Franka Potente does a nice turn as the girlfriend, but she bites it during the first reel. Let's hope they enlist a better director and screenwriter before lensing The Bourne Ultimatum, the third and last Bourne novel by Robert Ludlum.

- Rambles
written by William Kates
published 11 September 2004