The Bourne Supremacy (film)
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| The Bourne Supremacy | |
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| Directed by | Paul Greengrass |
| Produced by | Doug Liman Frank Marshall |
| Written by | Novel: Robert Ludlum Screenplay: Tony Gilroy Uncredited: Brian Helgeland |
| Starring | Matt Damon Franka Potente Brian Cox Julia Stiles Karl Urban Gabriel Mann and Joan Allen |
| Music by | John Powell |
| Editing by | Christopher Rouse Richard Pearson |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | July 23, 2004 |
| Running time | 108 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $75 million |
| Preceded by | The Bourne Identity |
| Followed by | The Bourne Ultimatum |
| IMDb profile | |
The Bourne Supremacy is a 2004 film based on the Robert Ludlum novel of the same name. It is also a sequel to the 2002 film The Bourne Identity. The Bourne Supremacy continues the story of Jason Bourne, an amnesiac and former CIA assassin played by Matt Damon, and his attempt to learn more of his shadowy past as he is once more enveloped in a conspiracy surrounding the CIA and Operation Treadstone. The film also stars Franka Potente as Marie Helena Kreutz, Brian Cox as Ward Abbott, Joan Allen as Pamela Landy and Julia Stiles as Nicolette Parsons.
The film was directed by Paul Greengrass, written by Tony Gilroy and Brian Helgeland and produced by Doug Liman and Frank Marshall. Universal Studios released the film to theaters in the United States on June 23, 2004 and it received a positive critical and public reaction similar to its predeccesor The Bourne Identity. The film is expected to be followed by a 2007 sequel entitled The Bourne Ultimatum.
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[edit] Plot
[edit] Background
This film begins where The Bourne Identity leaves off. It substantially deviates from the underlying book as Alexander Conklin is now dead and the CIA is Bourne's enemy rather than his friend (the plot actually incorporates aspects of the Bourne novel The Bourne Legacy written by Eric Van Lustbader as well).
This film continues the theme of its predecessor including substantial mystery albeit in a more politically dramatic, double-sided atmosphere. It also ends the romantic sub-plot but subtly increases the emotional side of the Bourne character by further exploring his care for children.
In The Bourne Identity Jason Bourne fails an assassination and gains amnesia as a result of it. Not knowing who he is, he is hunted by a CIA black ops organization called Treadstone which trains and manages expert assassins. Bourne slowly discovers he was one of these assassins and manages to sever his relationship with this organization by the end of the film, warning Treadstone of serious consequences should the CIA attempt to follow him. He also gains a companion, Marie Helena Kreutz, but fails to learn of his identity prior to his involvement in Treadstone or any additional information regarding himself including any past operations he may have been a part of.
[edit] Goa & Berlin
Bourne and his girlfriend from the first film, Marie, are now living anonymously in Goa. Bourne is having incomplete flashbacks of his past life, particularly an assassination in a Berlin hotel under the direction of Treadstone boss Conklin.
Meanwhile in Berlin, CIA officers under the direction of Deputy Director Pamela Landy are overseeing an operation to pay $3 million for some documents, the "Neski files", relating to the theft of $20 million of CIA money seven years earlier. An assassin, Kirill, plants two sets of explosives on the power cables in the basement of the building where the exchange is taking place. Kirill then plants a fingerprint on one of the detonation boxes. When the power fails, Kirill bursts in and kills the two agents, takes the Neski files and the money, and escapes. In a hotel room Kirill gives the files and the money to Russian oil magnate Yuri Gretkov. Gretkov pays Kirill some money, informing him he'll get some more when he "finishes the job". Kirill then leaves to catch a plane.
Kirill arrives in Goa and is spotted by Bourne. Believing Kirill to be a CIA assassin out to kill him, Bourne collects Marie and they flee in a car. Kirill chases after them. Preparing to tackle Kirill, Bourne swaps seats with Marie. Kirill produces a rifle and believing that Bourne is in the driving seat shoots Marie, but believes he has killed Bourne. The car crashes off a bridge into the river. Kirill tells Gretkov in Moscow that Bourne is dead. Bourne burns Marie's possessions, collects some money and passports, and sets off for Naples.
In Berlin, one of the detonation boxes, the one with the fingerprint on it, failed to go off (which was the intended result.) Landy finds out that the fingerprint is from a CIA agent under the confidential Treadstone Project and travels to CIA Headquarters at Langley to find out who it is.
[edit] Naples & Langley
At Langley, Landy finds out that the fingerprint belongs to Bourne and gets permission to interview Ward Abbott about Treadstone. Abbott admits that he had Conklin killed after a failed operation and that he doesn't know, or care, where Bourne is. Landy reveals that she believes that the CIA's money was stolen by one of its own agents, named in the Neski files she was trying to buy in Berlin. She reveals that a Russian politician, Vladimir Neski, had previously tried to contact the CIA to identify the thief but before he could do so he was murdered by his wife in their hotel room in Berlin. Landy believes Conklin and Bourne were the thieves and, because of the fingerprint, mistakenly believes that Bourne killed the two agents in Berlin. Abbott is skeptical. Abbott and Landy are ordered to travel to Berlin to find Bourne and "take him down" to prevent further problems for the CIA.
In Naples, Bourne uses his American passport, causing him to be detained at passport control. Bourne incapacitates his interrogator and duplicates the SIM card of his cellular phone. He then eavesdrops on a call from Landy to the interrogator, thereby learning Landy's name and that he is suspected in several deaths. He then steals a car and begins his journey to Germany.
[edit] Munich & Berlin
In Munich he breaks into the house of another Treadstone agent, Jarda, believing he can get more information about Conklin, Landy and Berlin. Jarda says he doesn't know anything. He says the Treadstone project was shut down after Conklin's murder and that they are the last two operatives left. There is a struggle. Bourne kills him, blows up his house and travels to Berlin.
In Berlin, Landy and Abbott have been joined by Nicolette Parsons (Nicky), Bourne's handler in Paris in the Bourne Identity. Bourne follows them to the CIA hub. Bourne mistakenly believes that Landy ordered his assassination in Goa. Bourne targets Landy with a rifle from an opposite building, intending to kill her. He calls her to ask why she is after him. She says it is because he killed two people in Berlin. She is referring to the CIA agents, but Bourne thinks she means the people in his flashbacks. He remembers a name - Neski. He notices Nicky and arranges to meet her at the Alexanderplatz. There, he kidnaps and interrogates her. Bourne finds out that Abbott was the real boss of Treadstone. Bourne begins to remember that he murdered Neski in the Brecker Hotel in Berlin but, despite being his handler, Nicky clearly doesn't know anything about it.
Landy begins to doubt that Bourne killed the CIA agents but she also begins to doubt that Neski was murdered by his wife. Bourne visits the Brecker Hotel and begins to remember that he killed Neski on the instructions of Conklin. Neski's wife was not supposed to be in the hotel, so Bourne improvised and shot her too, making it look like a murder-suicide. He also remembers that they had a daughter, Irina. Alone together, Abbott's assistant, Danny Zorn, reveals to Abbott that he also thinks that Bourne is being framed. As Danny presents the evidence he found, Abbott kills him. Bourne breaks into Abbott’s hotel room and records a telephone conversation between him and Gretkov that reveals that he stole the CIA money and shared it with Gretkov. Abbott confesses to Bourne that he ordered his assassination in Goa. By implication, he also ordered Neski’s murder by Bourne, ordered the murder of the CIA agents by Kirill and supplied Kirill with the fingerprint that framed Bourne for it. Landy confronts Abbott who kills himself. Later, Bourne sends the tape to Landy.
[edit] Moscow & New York
Bourne travels to Moscow. Kirill finds out via Gretkov that Bourne is still alive and in Moscow. Kirill sets out to kill him but he is seriously injured, possibly killed, in a car crash with Bourne. Gretkov is arrested by Landy thanks to the information Bourne provided. Bourne tracks Irina down and apologizes for killing her parents. The apology fulfills Bourne's true objective of traveling to Moscow. Bourne is then seen finally spying on Landy in New York who is still looking for him. He contacts her and she gives him an off-the-record apology and thanks him. She reveals his real name and birth town before he walks off. " Get some rest Pam. You look tired"
[edit] Jason Bourne
The Bourne Identity treats Jason Bourne's past and true identity as a mystery, even more so than the underlying books. This film proceeds with this mystery but adds a few pieces to the puzzle. It also further fleshes out the Treadstone operation and its purposes and that Bourne was an operative thereof. The history of Treadstone is, in part, the history of Jason Bourne.
- After discovering that Bourne is headed for Russia, Landy contacts the Russian Interior Ministry. It is unclear why she does this:
- The simplest and most likely answer is that Landy did not comprehend the whole of the events that had transpired and she simply knew an assassin was on the run and wanted him apprehended or dead.
- Alternatively she is notifying the Russian authorities about Gretkov and not about Bourne at all. This is displayed as Gretkov is immediately arrested after the car chase scene with Landy present.
- Because she does not understand the full depth or ramifications of Abbott's actions and so genuinely wants Bourne dead. This seems improbable as, although perhaps Landy did not understand why Abbott committed suicide, Landy does not have a rash enough personality to sign Bourne's death warrant before accumulating all the facts (i.e., that it was Abbott, not Bourne, who was the criminal).
- Landy may not have believed Bourne's audiotape and thought Bourne was simply covering his own footprints even though, from Landy's perspective, Bourne and Abbott were working together at one time.
- Because she does understand what was going on and wants Yuri (the only name Bourne got on audiotape in Abbott's room) to be taken care of — by Bourne. This seems highly improbable as Landy doesn't demonstrate this level of intelligence or deviousness in the film. To trust that Yuri has a contact or himself works in the Interior Ministry makes this theory further unlikely.
- Because she still wants Bourne to come home to bear witness to the crimes of Ward Abbott. This is also an unlikely theory as Bourne has made it clear through his words and actions that he would rather be dead than return to the CIA.
- In the final scene Landy informs Bourne she wanted to talk with him to thank him and apologize. If this is true, it seems unlikely she would have told the Russian police to hunt Bourne.
- On the other hand, Landy may have told Bourne his real name and place of birth because she was setting a trap for Bourne to be played out in The Bourne Ultimatum.
- Nicky runs down some of the characteristics of Treadstone operatives when Landy grills her on Bourne's profile. Apparently they have many obsessive-compulsive disorders associated with their training; they all have headaches, as well as various psychological problems that are alluded to but not explained further.
- The form of Bourne's amnesia and possible multiple personalities is further explored in this film. It is unclear whether the character delves deeper into his well-trained assassin persona or becomes more emotional in his powerful drive to avenge Marie and later to apologize to Irina Neski. According to Director DVD commentary, this distinction was left intentionally vague.
[edit] Critical Reaction
Reviews on internet critic sites suggest an overall positive disposition towards the film. Rotten Tomatoes scores the film at 82%. [1]. Some contend that the shakey camera was a problem for them, but many feel that the technique added to the tension.
[edit] Cast and Crew
[edit] Main Cast
- Matt Damon as Jason Bourne
- Joan Allen as Pamela "Pam" Landy; a CIA Deputy Director and Task Force Chief, pursues Bourne after her operation goes bad
- Brian Cox as Ward Abbott; a CIA Deputy Director formerly in charge of Treadstone, is actually in league with Gretkov for stolen CIA money
- Karl Urban as Kirill; a Russian secret service agent and an expert assassin who is working for Gretkov as a favor to Abbott
- Karel Roden as Gretkov; Kirill's employer, collaborating with Abbott for stolen CIA money
- Franka Potente as Marie Helena Kreutz; Bourne's girlfriend.
- Julia Stiles as Nicolette "Nicky" Parsons; formerly Bourne's Treadstone contact, is taken from her post-Treadstone assignment to assist in the search for Bourne
- Gabriel Mann as Danny Zorn; formerly assigned to Treadstone headquarters, is now on Abbott's staff
[edit] Minor Roles
- Tomas Arana as Martin "Marty" Marshall, CIA Director
- Tom Gallop as Tom Cronin; Landy's righthand agent
- Michelle Monaghan as Kim; Landy's number two agent
- Oksana Akinshina as Irina Neski, the murdered politician Neski's daughter
[edit] Crew
- Directed by: Paul Greengrass
- Written by: Robert Ludlum
- Produced by: Doug Liman
- Screenplay by: Tony Gilroy and Brian Helgeland (uncredited)
- Music by: John Powell
- Cinematography by: Oliver Wood
- Special Effects by: Industrial Light and Magic
- Distributed by: Universal Pictures
- Soundtrack includes "Extreme Ways" by Moby
[edit] Trivia
- Filming locations include: Goa, Berlin, New York City and Moscow. Although there is a scene that occurs in Amsterdam it was filmed elsewhere. [2]
- The car driven by Karl Urban at Goa was a Third Generation Hyundai Sonata.
- This is the first cinematic appearance of the 2005 BMW 7 Series, as driven by Karl Urban.
- The fictional petroleum company mentioned in the film, PEKOS, is a reference to real-life Russian petroleum concern YUKOS and its controversial acquisition of Russian petroleum rights after the perestroika period in 1993.
- The character of Yuri Gretkov was probably based on real-life YUKOS founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
- Joan Allen and Brian Cox both appeared in the Michael Mann thriller Manhunter (1986).
- Four different languages are spoken throughout the film: English, Russian, German, and Italian.
- In the book, Marie is Bourne's wife (not girlfriend), and she does not die.
- Jason's supposed birthplace, Nixa, Missouri, is a real place.
[edit] Tagline
- They should have left him alone.
- They stole his identity. Now he wants it back.
[edit] External links
- Official site
- The Bourne Supremacy at the Internet Movie Database
- The Bourne Supremacy at Rotten Tomatoes
| Jason Bourne | |
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| Robert Ludlum novels: | The Bourne Identity (1980) | The Bourne Supremacy (1986) | The Bourne Ultimatum (1990) |
| Eric Van Lustbader novels: | The Bourne Legacy (2004) | The Bourne Betrayal (2007) |
| 20th century films: | The Bourne Identity (1988) |
| 21st century films: | The Bourne Identity (2002) | The Bourne Supremacy (2004) | The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) |
