The Bourne Supremacy The Bourne Identity Value Pack

Buy This Item The Bourne Supremacy The Bourne Identity Value Pack by Universal Studios  Available from Amazon  $29.99  on 11-16-2008     Reader Reviews Robert Ludlum may have passed on, but his work is definitely alive in the cinema. His taut Jason Bourne series has been adapted into two movies (so far), "The Bourne Identity" and "The Bourne Supremacy," which are action-packed and tautly directed but also brimming with flaws. "The Bourne Identity" opens with an amnesiac (Matt Damon) being hauled onto a fishing boat, with two bullets in his back. Once he's recovered, he goes in search of his identity -- and finds links to a sinister organization that is out to kill him. And as he goes on the run, Jason Bourne must uncover who he is and why he is a fighting machine. "The Bourne Supremacy" opens with Bourne tormented by nightmares, even though he's living peacefully in India. But then his enemies are after him again, and even destroy his beloved girlfriend. Now Bourne is out for revenge against the people who won't leave him in peace -- assuming that they don't kill him first. What can an action movie do that hasn't been done before? That's a hard question to answer, and most efforts (any "XXX" movie, for example) fall horribly flat. Bang bang, blast blast, add a few naked bodies, and that is all they do for innovation. But these two movies at least attempt to find something unique. And they succeed to some degree: "Bourne Identity" has a stripped-down appeal, complete with down-the-stairs car chases and stark European cities, and although the story seems to meander at times, it isn't peppered with stale witticisms and hokey gadgets. Unfortunately, the second movie was done by a different director -- a far less talented one, alas. And so the cinematography is downright atrocious, with half the scenes done in a shakycam style that bobs all over the place. Even on a small screen, it's enough to make you seasick. At least it distracts from the stumbling if tense plot. Matt Damon obviously threw his all into these films. His acting is made intriguing by its intensity, which keeps him from seeming like yet another James Bond clone, albeit one with amnesia. He's really trying, it seems. Much of the film's tension comes from Damon, and he also provides it with some surprisingly realistic-looking fights. And "Supremacy" is graced with two excellent performances, in the icy, taut Joan Allen and the sinister Karl Urban. Bourne's love interests aren't quite as good: Julia Stiles doesn't have enough screen time to make us like her character, and Franka Potente plays a dizzy, inglorious Bond girl who's just there for Damon to bed. Though "Bourne Supremacy" is a dizzying shakycam trip, the films together are a taut action duology, yet they lack equally taut storylines. Matt Damon's intense performance is what keeps it from being mediocre.

The Bourne Supremacy The Bourne Identity Value Pack Available from Amazon Price: $29.99 Updated on 11-16-2008.

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