The Bourne Supremacy (2004)

The Jason Bourne movies are a fantastic series of films, and the Bourne Supremacy is no exception. In this film, Matt Damon stars as the amnesic Bourne, who is desperately trying to discover why his former employers - the CIA - are still after him. Having been unknowingly framed in a CIA operation, he is forced to return to his previous life as an assassin in order to survive, having maintained an underground existence in India for the past two years.

Matt Damon plays the role of Bourne with conviction, and it is interesting to see how he portrays a character who cannot remember his own past. Throughout the film, the viewer only knows as much as Bourne himself, who is desperate to piece the truth together; this brings an extra level of suspense to the plotline, and allows the viewer to put themselves in the protagonist's shoes.

The action scenes are well constructed and convincing, most notably the car chase scene in which Bourne is trying to escape from one of the primary antagonists of the film, a character named Kirill (played by Karl Urban), whose mission is to kill Bourne. On top of this, clever cinematography in fight scenes gives them a scuffling and frantic, yet controlled, look, immersing the viewer further into the film's plot. Exciting music contributes to these elements of the film, adding to the viewer's overall enjoyment.

The film also manages to build in the emotional trauma suffered by the protagonist, with disconnected flashbacks contributing to the overall sense of confusion felt by Bourne, as he tries to remember what happened on his first ever assignment, in Berlin.

The film isn't all action and mystery, however: several funny elements have been cleverly built into the plot, adding humour and lightening the mood, throwing the intensity into relief.

Although there are a couple of minor flaws in the storyline, this film overall provided a very enjoyable viewing experience. I would highly recommend it to fans of action, thriller and mystery movies alike.