From Ivana Redwine,
Your Guide to DVD.
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Matt Damon again plays CIA-trained assassin Jason Bourne in the action thriller "The Bourne Supremacy" (2004), the follow-up to "The Bourne Identity" (2002). Like its predecessor, I found "Supremacy" to be a slick, well-paced, grown-up entertainment.

But I didn't enjoy "Supremacy" as much as I did "Identity." I liked the romantic chemistry in the earlier film between Damon and actress Franka Potente. But that actress appears in "Supremacy" only rather briefly.

Still, I think "Supremacy" is a superior thriller, if for no other reason than it successfully maintains tension throughout. Also, the action sequences get the adrenaline pumping, and the film features intriguing locations, notably Goa, Berlin, and Moscow.

I consider Matt Damon to be just about perfect in the role of Jason Bourne, and several supporting actors, including Brian Cox and Julia Stiles, reprised their roles from "Identity" in "Supremacy." The later movie introduces a major new character in CIA agent Pamela Landy, impressively played by veteran Joan Allen.

In terms of story, "Supremacy" opens about two years after "Identity" left off with Bourne and his girlfriend living in hiding in Goa, India. He still suffers from partial amnesia that prevents him from knowing much about his earlier life, but what he does remember torments him. But Bourne is forced to go on the run when a Russian oil mogul sends someone to kill him. Soon he finds himself framed for the slaying of CIA operatives in Berlin and the target of an intensive manhunt. But his quest to come to terms with his past eventually takes him to Moscow.

The DVD provides a feature-length audio track where director Paul Greengrass gives a running commentary on the film. Greengrass says he tried to give the movie a feeling of intense immediacy, and I think he achieved that goal for the most part. But I'd say he discusses the film mainly in terms of story. For example, he perceives the movie as a tale of two interwoven journeys, one by Matt Damon's character, the other by Joan Allen's.

The DVD also contains seven minutes of deleted scenes, as well as nine featurettes of length four to seven minutes. I found these only mildly interesting. The featurette on the Go Mobile shows a special vehicle designed to make car chase sequences more exciting, and I believe it must work because "The Bourne Supremacy" contains one of the best I've seen. The "Keeping It Real" featurette focuses on director Paul Greengrass's quasi-documentary visual style, which was evident in his earlier film "Bloody Sunday." Also, the "Anatomy of a Scene" featurette shows the athletic Matt Damon to be a bit of a daredevil—apparently he does quite a few of his own stunts.

Below I've listed all the special features on the widescreen version of "The Bourne Supremacy" DVD. There's also a full-screen DVD version available that is identical except for the aspect ratio of the feature film.

DVD Details:

• DVD Release Date: December 7, 2004
• Feature Film Run Time: 1 hr. 48 min.
• Widescreen (2.35:1), Color
• MPAA Rating: PG-13 for Violence and Intense Action, and Brief Language
• English Dolby Digital 5.1
• French Dolby Digital 5.1
• Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
• English Captions for the Hearing Impaired
• Spanish Subtitles
• French Subtitles
• Feature Commentary With Director Paul Greengrass
• Deleted Scenes (7 min.)
• Matching Identities: Casting Featurette (5 min. 25 sec.)
• Keeping It Real: Visual Style Featurette (5 min.)
• Blowing Things Up: Pyrotechnical Sequence Featurette (4 min.)
• On the Move: Travelogue Featurette (4 min. 50 sec.)
• Bourne to Be Wild: Fight Training Featurette (4 min. 20 sec.)
• Crash Cam: Car Chase Stunt Featurette (6 min.)
• The Go Mobile: Special Vehicle Featurette (6 min. 50 sec.)
• Anatomy of a Scene: Damon Jumps Off Bridge (4 min. 40 sec.)
• Scoring With John Powell (4 min. 45 sec.)
• Cast and Filmmakers (text)
• DVD-ROM Features