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The Bourne Supremacy (film)

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"Bourne 2" redirects here. For the novel, see The Bourne Supremacy.

The Bourne Supremacy
Jason Bourne is seen holding a sniper rifle, raising an eyebrow. The caption reads, "They should have left him alone".
Theatrical release poster
Directed byPaul Greengrass
Screenplay byTony Gilroy
Based onThe Bourne Supremacy
by Robert Ludlum
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyOliver Wood
Edited by
Music byJohn Powell
Production
company
Distributed by
Release dates
  • July 15, 2004 (2004-07-15) (ArcLight Hollywood)
  • July 23, 2004 (2004-07-23) (United States)
Running time
108 minutes[4]
CountryUnited States[1][2]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$75–85 million[5][6]
Box office$311 million[6]

The Bourne Supremacy is a 2004 American action-thriller film starring Matt Damon as Robert Ludlum's character Jason Bourne, a former CIA assassin suffering from psychogenic amnesia trying to learn more of his past when he is enveloped in a conspiracy involving the CIA and Treadstone. Franka Potente, Brian Cox, Julia Stiles, Karl Urban, Gabriel Mann, and Joan Allen also star. Based on the novel of the same name,[a] it is a direct sequel to The Bourne Identity (2002), and was directed by Paul Greengrass and written by Tony Gilroy.

The film premiered at ArcLight Hollywood on July 15, 2004, and was theatrically released in the United States on July 23 by Universal Pictures. It received positive reviews and was a commercial success, grossing $311 million on a $75–85 million budget. A sequel, The Bourne Ultimatum, was released in 2007.

Plot

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Jason Bourne and Marie Kreutz are living in Goa, India. He is still suffering from amnesia, so he records flashbacks about his life as a CIA assassin in a notebook.

In Berlin, a CIA agent working for Deputy Director Pamela Landy is paying $3 million to an unnamed Russian source for the Neski files, documents on the theft of $20 million seven years prior. The deal is interrupted by Kirill, a Russian Federal Security Service agent who works for oligarch Yuri Gretkov. He kills the agent and source, steals the files and money, and plants fingerprints framing Bourne for the attack.

After finding Bourne's fingerprint, Landy asks Section Chief Ward Abbott about Operation Treadstone, the defunct CIA program to which Bourne belonged. She tells Abbott that the CIA agent who stole the $20 million was named in the Neski files. Some years ago, Russian politician Vladimir Neski was about to identify the thief when he was killed by his wife in a suspected murder-suicide in Berlin. Landy believes that Bourne and Treadstone's late supervisor, Alexander Conklin, were involved and that Bourne killed the Neskis.

Gretkov directs Kirill to Goa to kill Bourne, who flees with Marie; Kirill follows and kills her, unaware that they switched seats in the midst of the chase. Bourne leaves Goa and travels to Naples, where he allows himself to be identified by security. He subdues a Diplomatic Security agent and a Carabinieri guard and copies the SIM card from his cell phone. From the subsequent phone call, he learns about Landy and the frame job.

Bourne goes to Munich to visit Jarda, the only other remaining Treadstone operative. Jarda informs him Treadstone was shut down after Conklin's death, then attacks him; Bourne strangles him to death, before destroying his home in a gas explosion as agents move in.

Bourne follows Landy and Abbott to Berlin as they meet former Treadstone support technician Nicky Parsons to question her about Bourne. Bourne believes the CIA is hunting him again and calls Landy from a nearby roof. He demands a meet-up with Nicky and indicates to Landy that he can see her in the office.

Bourne kidnaps Nicky in Alexanderplatz and learns from her that Abbott had been Conklin's boss. He releases her after she reveals she knows nothing about the mission. Bourne then visits the hotel where the killing took place and recalls more of his mission: he killed Neski on Conklin's orders, and when Neski's wife showed up, he shot her and made it look like a murder-suicide.

Danny Zorn, Conklin's former assistant, finds inconsistencies in the report of Bourne's involvement with the death of the agent and explains his theory to Abbott. Abbott then kills Zorn to prevent him from informing Landy. Bourne breaks into Abbott's hotel room and records a conversation between him and Gretkov that incriminates them in the theft of the $20 million. When confronted, Abbott admits to Bourne that he stole the money, ordered Kirill to retrieve the files, and had Bourne framed before arranging for him to be silenced in Goa.

Abbott expects Bourne to kill him, but Bourne refuses, saying Marie would not want him to, and puts a gun on the table and leaves. Landy confronts Abbott about her suspicions and he kills himself; later, she finds an envelope containing the tape of Abbott's conversations with Gretkov and Bourne in her hotel room.

Bourne travels to Moscow to find Neski's daughter, Irena. Kirill, tasked once again by Gretkov with killing Bourne, finds and wounds him. Bourne flees in a stolen taxi and Kirill chases him. Bourne forces Kirill's vehicle into a concrete divider, and leaves behind a seriously wounded Kirill, as Gretkov is arrested with Landy watching in the background. Bourne locates Irena and confesses to murdering her parents, apologizing to her as he leaves.

Later in New York City, Bourne calls Landy. She thanks him for the tape, reveals his original name, David Webb, and his date and place of birth, and asks him to meet her. Bourne, who is watching her from a building tells her she looks tired and to get some rest, as he disappears into the city.

Cast

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In addition, Oksana Akinshina appears as Irena Neski.

Production

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The producers replaced Doug Liman, who directed The Bourne Identity. This was mainly due to the difficulties Liman had with the studio when making the first film, and their unwillingness to work with him again. British director Paul Greengrass was selected to direct the film after the producers saw Bloody Sunday (2002), Greengrass' depiction of the Bloody Sunday shootings in Northern Ireland, at Gilroy's suggestion. Producer Patrick Crowley liked Greengrass' "sense of the camera as [a] participatory viewer", a visual style Crowley thought would work well for The Bourne Supremacy.[7] The film was shot in reverse order of its settings: some portions of the car chase and the film's ending were shot in Moscow, then most of the rest of the film was shot in and around Berlin, and the opening scenes in Goa, India were filmed last.[8][9]

Initially, the film ended with Bourne collapsing after meeting the Neskis' daughter and later having a conversation with Landy in a hospital room.[10][11] Two weeks before the film was to premiere, Greengrass and Damon devised an alternate ending—the phone conversation in New York between Landy and Bourne—and the producers agreed to shoot it. The film tested better with the new ending and it was included in the final release.[12]

The special visual effects were produced by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM).

Release

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Home media

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The film was released on VHS and DVD by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment on December 7, 2004.[13]

Reception

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Box office

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The Bourne Supremacy grossed $176.1 million domestically (United States and Canada) and $134.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $311 million, against a budget of $75 million.[5] Released Jul 23, 2004, it opened at No. 1. It spent eight of its first nine weeks in the Top 10 at the domestic box office.[14]

Critical response

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 81% of 194 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "A well-made sequel that delivers the thrills."[15] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 73 out of 100, based on 39 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[16] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[17]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, writing that it "treats the material with gravity and uses good actors in well-written supporting roles [that] elevates the movie above its genre, but not quite out of it."[18]

Accolades

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At the 2005 Taurus World Stunt Awards, veteran Russian stunt coordinator Viktor Ivanov and Scottish stunt driver Gillie McKenzie won the "Best Vehicle" award for their driving in the Moscow car chase scene. Dan Bradley, the film's second unit director won the overall award for stunt coordinator.[19] The film ranks 454th on Empire's 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time.[20]

Year Organization Award Category Recipient Result
2005 ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards ASCAP Award Top Box Office Films John Powell Won
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, USA Saturn Award Best Actor Matt Damon Nominated
Broadcast Film Critics Association Critics Choice Award Best Popular Movie Nominated
Cinema Audio Society Awards C.A.S. Award Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Motion Pictures Nominated
Edgar Allan Poe Awards Edgar Best Motion Picture Screenplay Nominated
Empire Awards, UK Empire Award Best Actor Matt Damon and Best Film Won
Best British Director of the Year Paul Greengrass Nominated
London Critics Circle Film Awards ALFS Award Best British Director Nominated
Scene of the Year The Moscow Car Chase Sequence Nominated
MTV Movie Award MTV Movie Award Best Action Sequence The Moscow Car Chase Nominated
Best Male Performance Matt Damon Nominated
Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA Golden Reel Award Best Sound Editing in Domestic Features – Dialogue & ADR and Best Sound Editing in Domestic Features - Sound Effects and Foley Nominated
People's Choice Awards, USA People's Choice Award Favorite Movie Drama Nominated
Teen Choice Award Teen Choice Award Choice Movie Actor: Action Matt Damon Nominated
Choice Movie: Action Nominated
USC Scripter Award USC Scripter Award Tony Gilroy (Screenwriter) and Robert Ludlum (Author) Nominated
World Soundtrack Award World Soundtrack Award Best Original Soundtrack of the Year — John Powell and Soundtrack Composer of the Year — John Powell Nominated
World Stunt Awards Taurus Award Best Stunt Coordinator or 2nd Unit Director Dan Bradley Won[19]
Best Work with a Vehicle Viktor Ivanov, Gillie McKenzie Won[19]
Best Fight Darrin Prescott and Chris O'Hara Nominated[19]

Soundtrack

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Main article: The Bourne Supremacy: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Notes

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  1. ^ Although the film utilizes the title of the novel, its plot is entirely different.

References

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  1. ^ a b c "The Bourne Supremacy (2004)". British Film Institute. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  2. ^ a b "The Bourne Supremacy". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  3. ^ Hazelton, John (July 18, 2004). "The Bourne Supremacy". Screen Daily. Screen International. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  4. ^ "The Bourne Supremacy (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved November 21, 2025.
  5. ^ a b "The Bourne Supremacy". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  6. ^ a b "The Bourne Supremacy". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  7. ^ "Picking Up the Thread". Production notes Archived September 14, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. The Bourne Supremacy (2004). Retrieved 2010-07-16.
  8. ^ "Setting Bourne's World". Production notes Archived September 14, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. The Bourne Supremacy (2004). Retrieved 2010-07-16.
  9. ^ "2004 Movie Releases: The Bourne Supremacy Production Notes". MadeinAtlantis.com. Archived from the original on August 17, 2012. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  10. ^ Gilroy, Tony; Helgeland, Brian (2004). "The Bourne Supremacy" (PDF) (Shooting script). Universal Studios.
  11. ^ Gilroy, Tony (writer); Greengrass, Paul (director) (2004). The Bourne Supremacy Hidden Alternative Ending. Retrieved November 12, 2025.
  12. ^ Armstrong, Stephen (June 8, 2008). "A whirlwind in action". The Guardian. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  13. ^ B., Brian (October 5, 2004). "The Bourne Supremacy comes to DVD January 4th". MovieWeb. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  14. ^ "The Bourne Supremacy | Domestic Weekly". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  15. ^ "The Bourne Supremacy". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 22, 2024. Edit this at Wikidata
  16. ^ "The Bourne Supremacy". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  17. ^ "Cinemascore". Archived from the original on December 20, 2018.
  18. ^ Ebert, Roger (July 23, 2004). "Damon makes 'Bourne' a supreme thriller". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2021 – via RogerEbert.com.
  19. ^ a b c d "2005 Winners & Nominees". Taurus World Stunt Awards. Archived from the original on November 9, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  20. ^ "The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time". Empire Features. Archived from the original on April 5, 2012.
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