...on The Bourne Supremacy

I borrowed The Bourne Supremacy from JG a while back and finally watched it. Why? Because director John Greengrass was tapped to do the big-screen version of Alan Moore's Watchmen.

Bourne Supremacy didn't surprise me. But then I've read Ludlum and watched thrillers before, so I don't think Hollywood can surprise me. Even still, there were a few moments of tension, along the lines of "No way can they dream up a way he escapes from this."

But I'd rather talk about what I liked, since it was a good movie. First of all, they didn't explain everything. The deleted scenes on the DVD are a perfect example of why I find so many movies not just dull, but insulting. Take for example the meet-up in Berlin. How did Jason know that there would be a demonstration going through the plaza at that time? He saw the yellow posters earlier. Thanks Greengrass for not cutting to the HQ and having somebody say "He must have read about it somewhere!"

Fight scenes didn't have that cool fast-motion, slow-motion, fast-motion style of The Bourne Identity but the action still worked. I could buy that these people were constantly scanning their environment for an edge. Even the car chase scene in Moscow I accepted. These weren't just agents, they were Solar Exalted agents.

Watchmen by Greengrass is not to be. Could he have pulled it off?

No. Nobody can. Moore's text is too dense for any film to capture. Film is a powerful, but limited medium. Watchmen is too big to capture.

But I definitely would have dropped $8 to see Greengrass's take on it.