Land of Whimsy

I rented it. I watched it. I can't, after all, very well write a review of The Bourne Supremacy without first seeing its predecessor. And, ultimately, I am of the opinion that The Bourne Identity is the better film - significantly better. Part of it, I think, is that it has a human element running throughout it, in the form of Marie, Franka Potente's character, which, beyond the first act, isn't present in The Bourne Supremacy (I'm trying hard to avoid spoilers here).

I mean, let's face it - Jason Bourne is a blank slate played by an incredibly wooden actor. True, he's a more realistic spy than James Bond, but most Bond actors are capable of more than one facial expression and can be relied on to actually exhibit the odd human emotion. Bourne is, by the very nature of his character, pretty much a robot, and, because of the way he's played, I have trouble believing he even remotely cares about anything. As such, I don't care about him. I do, however, find myself caring about Marie, because she's a human being rather than a superhero.

As a result, The Bourne Identity is actually quite exciting. Yes, it has the same air of detachment to it that annoyed me about its sequel, but it's fast-paced, reasonably intelligent, and has that globe-trotting aspect that makes films of this type so appealing. The direction is also considerably better, with Doug Liman (Go) keeping the shakyvision camera in check in a way that Paul Greengrass utterly failed to do with the sequel. There's also a really good car chase through the streets of Paris that puts to shame anything in The Bourne Supremacy.

That said, I'm going to watch The Bourne Supremacy again before I review it. Maybe, now that I've absorbed with relevant back-story, I'll be less critical of it.

IMDB reference

Watched: Sunday, July 23, 2006

(*) Constantine ***

USA: Francis Lawrence, 2005

IMDB reference

Watched: Wednesday, July 19, 2006

(*) Finding Nemo ****½

USA: Andrew Stanton, 2003

A dependable viewing choice and one that I continue to enjoy every time I see it. It strikes me that, of all the Pixar films created so far, this is probably the most different. Sure, The Incredibles is the only one to focus on human characters or attempt to tell a story that appeals more to adults at the risk of alienating its sizeable child audience, but Finding Nemo is probably the studio's most subtle and understated production. Not that this necessarily makes it better than the rest of the series - indeed, I prefer both Toy Story and The Incredibles - but it shows that Pixar is far from a one-trick pony.

IMDB reference

Watched: Saturday, July 15, 2006