{image1}In the first "Bourne" movie, 2002's "The Bourne Identity," lead character Jason Bourne, played brilliantly by Matt Damon, has not a clue who he is or what he's doing, much less for whom he's working.
In this summer's sequel, "The Bourne Supremacy," Bourne is brought out of hiding, knows who he is, but not what he does, much less why he does it.
Make sense? It will when you see Damon as a one-man wrecking crew in this sophisticated summer thriller that doesn't match the creativity of its predecessor, but still entertains and rises above the fray of your typical Hollywood car chase, blow 'em up "adventure."
Expert assassin Jason Bourne continues to find himself plagued by nightmares from his former life. The stakes are now even higher for the agent as he maneuvers with "Alias" and "MacGyver"-type ease through the dangerous waters of international espionage -- replete with CIA plots, turncoat agents (one played very well by Brian Cox) and ever-shifting covert alliances -- all the while hoping to find the truth behind his haunted memories, answers to his own past and a murder that swims in his memory.
At an hour and 48 minutes, the movie moves quickly but the final 20-minute segment in Russia seems unnecessary, adding only a little more action. Nonetheless, the final car chase scene was wildly entertaining if not terribly believable.
Viewers will likely love the use of the many worldwide locations (Italy, Russia, India) and the edgy cinematic shots by director Paul Greengrass (writer/director of "Bloody Sunday"). The fight scene, in particular, is filmed as if Damon has a camera on this body. It's an aggressive style that is fresh and non-traditional, and if you don't watch it can be upsetting to a delicate stomach.
What's missing from "Supremacy?" Romance. The first movie was more directly involved in the character's heads due to the relationships and evolution Bourne's interest in Marie (Franke Potente) whom (warning plot spoiler), dies in this film. Julie Stiles shines again in this movie as Nicky, but she's in a limited role that will hopefully be expanded for the next movie, which will be the final in the trilogy "The Bourne Ultimatum."
"The Bourne Supremacy," from a screenplay by Tony Gilroy ("The Bourne Identity"), based on Robert Ludlum's book of the same name, is rated PG-13 and is playing everywhere.
A life-long and passionate community leader and Milwaukeean, Jeff Sherman is a co-founder of OnMilwaukee.
He grew up in Wauwatosa and graduated from Marquette University, as a Warrior. He holds an MBA from Cardinal Stritch University, and is the founding president of Young Professionals of Milwaukee (YPM)/Fuel Milwaukee.
Early in his career, Sherman was one of youngest members of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, and currently is involved in numerous civic and community groups - including board positions at The Wisconsin Center District, Wisconsin Club and Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. He's honored to have been named to The Business Journal's "30 under 30" and Milwaukee Magazine's "35 under 35" lists.
He owns a condo in Downtown and lives in greater Milwaukee with his wife Stephanie, his son, Jake, and daughter Pierce. He's a political, music, sports and news junkie and thinks, for what it's worth, that all new movies should be released in theaters, on demand, online and on DVD simultaneously.
He also thinks you should read OnMilwaukee each and every day.
