This classic 2004 film changed the action genre forever

Today, Matt Damon is best known as a film star. The Oscar winner has had a long and productive career, in which he has played both leading and supporting roles and has found recognition in several genres. From psychological thrillers such as The talented Mr. Ripley to science fiction vehicles like The Martianof pitch-black comedies like The informant! to kitschy family films like We bought a zoo, Damon really did everything.

It was 2002 The Bourne Identity This made Damon a potential action star, but the sequel secured his legacy. And more importantly: The Bourne Supremacy changed the game for the action genre as a whole and was a precursor to the gritty, suspenseful, raw action films that would dominate much of the late 2000s and early 2010s, paving the way for the over-the-top extravaganzas we have today. On its 20th anniversary, let’s look back at The Bourne Supremacya film that changed its genre forever – for the better.

The Damon Identity

In 2002, Matt Damon was where every young star wanted to be: in an open field with plenty of opportunities ahead of him. In this paradise of opportunity, Damon had his pick of just about everything, from directors to screenplays to co-stars. Damon wisely took advantage of his mail.Hunting for good will Capitalized on building his reputation as a renowned actor, meaning he chose to work with notable directors such as Anthony Minghella, Steven Spielberg and Steven Soderbergh. It didn’t matter if the roles were smaller – Damon famously had a limited but central role in The soldier James Ryan and played second fiddle behind Clooney and Pitt in ocean trilogy. However, he built his reputation as a credible actor, which then paved his way to fame.

Not many actors take this route, mainly because not many have the opportunity. In fact, most try to become instant movie stars with a major franchise and struggle to make a name for themselves outside of it. For every Timothée Chalamet, who also built a resume as an acclaimed, Oscar-nominated actor in prestige films such as Call me by your name And Little Woman before we move on to big-budget vehicles like the dune Duology and the silly musical Wonkathen you have a Tom Holland who can’t seem to escape the Spider-Man role. In many ways, Damon was the Timothée Chalamet of the late ’90s. In 2002, he was ready to rise to movie stardom, and he found the right vehicle in Doug Liman’s The Bourne Identity.

In the 2002 film, Damon plays Jason Bourne, a man suffering from amnesia who must discover his mysterious past and connection to the CIA. It was the perfect role for an actor like Damon; like Bourne himself, audiences were amazed by the character’s abilities. It was refreshing and more than a little shocking to see this once pretty boy become violent in fight scenes that were raw, direct, and far more detailed than anything that came before. The Bourne Identity was an unexpected success, grossing $214 million worldwide on a $60 million budget. It was the perfect success story that allowed for a sequel that was bigger, bolder and better.

The Bourne Supremacy came out in 2004 and continues Bourne’s story as he tries to find out more about his connection to the mysterious Treadstone organization and how he fits into the larger CIA conspiracy. Notably, Liman stepped down as director and was replaced by Paul Greengrass, with Tony Gilroy returning to write the screenplay. Greengrass’ arrival was crucial in turning things around Bourne from a regular action story to a gripping and suspenseful story that combines elements of many other genres, particularly political thriller and psychodrama.

The Bourne Supremacy takes itself seriously, engaging audiences not only as a story about one man against the world, but also as a deeply compelling journey of self-discovery and self-realization. This is where Damon’s casting and Greengrass’ direction come into play; Damon had the acting talent to bring seriousness and dignity to the story, while Greengrass was an up-and-coming director whose 2002 film Bloody Sunday earned him the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. This combination proved effective, giving the film a sobering, dark approach that stood in stark contrast to other films of the time.

The Bourne Transformation

The Bourne Supremacy came out in the midst of a revolution in the action genre. The 90s gave us a series of wonderfully crazy action spectacles that bordered on caricature. Don’t get me wrong; I love things like Con-Air, Air Force OneAnd The fifth Element – cheesy, silly, fun action films that made the 90s such a spectacular time in cinema. However, they are pretty good representations of how audiences, and therefore Hollywood itself, thought about the action genre.

For most, action movies were loud, over-the-top, over-produced and sometimes literally out of this world. Everything that happened on screen was clearly detached from the audience – there was not an ounce of reality in these adventures, and no one wanted that. Even Brian De Palma, who brought much-needed respectability to the genre with 1996’s The 4000, Impossible missionwas full of exaggeration in sequences like the now-iconic wire scene. As the decade progressed, the concepts got crazier and crazier: from unstoppable buses to face transplants to oil drillers in space, the action genre slowly became a parody of itself.

In this landscape Bourne came out. Sure, the concept of a highly trained, extremely skilled, nearly infallible spy and assassin may not be plausible in and of itself. However, the plot is anchored in something that is relatable, as a journey of the self that happens to include a decent dose of high-octane action. The action was also a stark departure from other films; in The Bourne SupremacyYou can hear each beat so well you can almost feel it.

The fights are straight to the point and feel like they aren’t even choreographed. Bourne isn’t afraid to get dirty, and often fights more like a street criminal than a well-trained agent. There’s no music either, instead Greengrass uses the environment to add rhythm to the sequence, be it a ringing phone, the sounds of a crowded street, or the inertia of two bodies slamming into each other.

More importantly, Bourne is fallible. Take his fight against former Treadstone assassin Jarda (Marton Csokas) in The Bourne SupremacyBourne gets distracted by a phone, of all things, which leads to a brutal but surprisingly clumsy fight in which he slowly gets used to the situation, but first has to take a good beating from the experienced killer.

Bourne can take out anyone with just about anything – in this fight he famously uses a magazine as a weapon – but he doesn’t know it right away; it’s all instinct, and it’s only when he’s in danger that his considerable skills come to the fore. And yet Bourne is unidentifiable. At no point do you see yourself in his shoes – how could you? But he’s remarkably likable, so you can empathize with him, which is just as important.

What is crucial is The Bourne Supremacy takes the viewer right into the action through hectic, confusing and often downright nauseating editing and camerawork. The cuts are quick, like the view of someone in the middle of a fight and with more than a few concussions. The handheld camera moves from side to side – cinéma vérité in the style of big-budget filmmaking. It’s demanding and could even become exhausting by the end, a drawn-out chase that is as challenging as it is rewarding.

The cinematography is also strikingly dark. While earlier action films preferred saturated images, The Bourne Supremacy uses a muted color palette, a distinctive vision that fits both the snowy, desolate landscapes of Russia and the crowded, noisy streets of India.

The Bourne Effect

The Bourne Trilogy represented a complete transformation for the action genre, starting with The Bourne Identity and perfected in The Bourne Supremacyand paved the way for the best film in the series, the 2007 film. The Bourne UltimatumWhile its predecessor only offered a hint of what was possible, The Bourne Supremacy stood firmly on the strength of his lore and his unique abilities. Like Bourne himself, supremacy the series really gets going and becomes confident enough to offer satisfying answers to a seemingly ever-expanding mystery.

Think of any other action movie that dominated the business world supremacy. Every film worth its salt Casino Royale and the relaunched James Bond series Mission: Impossible 3 and even things like The Dark Knightgoes back to The Bourne SupremacyOften imitated but rarely reproduced, The Bourne Supremacy redefined expectations of the action genre, transformed it for a new generation, and opened countless doors for future directors. In fact, every modern action filmmaker, from the Russo Brothers to Chad Stahelski, has built their own style on Greengrass’ emotive approach.

The best way to summarize The Bourne SupremacyThe legacy of can perhaps be found in the late Roger Ebert’s review: “The fact that director Paul Greengrass treats the material with seriousness and uses good actors in well-written supporting roles elevates the film above its genre, but not quite outside it.” I’m not sure Ebert necessarily meant that statement as a strength, but I think it’s the perfect description of the film. The Bourne Supremacy recognizes all the possibilities of the action genre without being ashamed of it.

The film may be deeper, more sophisticated and emotional, but it is still an action film. By capturing its essence while testing and pushing its boundaries, The Bourne Supremacy became a turning point in the action genre, a gut-punching film that still resonates 20 years later. That’s an incredible legacy, Mr. Bourne.

The Bourne Supremacy is aviable Rent or buy on Amazon and other digital providers.