DVD Review HTF Review: The Bourne Supremacy (Highly Recommended!) (1 Viewer)

[George_W_K]

This was a really fun movie, but the shaky cam did bother me during the few fight scenes.

 

[Sean Moon]

I agree about IGNs review. It seems that their opinion of the film itself affects the score for the video and audio. Usually if they dont like the movie, the picture and sound scores suffer as well.

 

[Rick Lyon]

Been looking forward to this movie. Saw the first in theaters and somehow watched it every day on Stars as it was their only movie for like 2 months and I loved it every time. A very realistic and believable type of action movie, kinda like a new reality show about amnesiac cia rogue agents coming to Fox this fall. Hard to see the sequel with a 2yr so looking forward to this DVD since the movie came out.

 

[Daniel Windsor]

I think IGN are spot on.

The DVD is just OK. Sound (where's the DTS?) is nowhere near as good as the first film and the image is nothing amazing.

I think I would of given up the extras to get DTS.

I just hope they don't make any more follow-ups and if they do, I'd like to see the original team back.

Paul Greengrass (director) made this film feel like a TV drama (no surprise as he's worked in TV). I thought the film was a bit timid, silly and with too many plot holes.

Did anyone buy Brian Cox's character killing himself? No way for me. If he could kill one colleague (why did he bother doing that? It was far too risky and anyway it was a stupid bit of plotting) I can see no reason why he couldn't kill another in the hotel room. I just don't buy the guilt trip or whatever they were trying to say.

 

[STARKILLER1138]

Great review Jason!

I didn't get to see this in the theater, but I really like the first one so this will be blind buy. Like others here, I'm a little disappointed that a DTS track wasn't included, but I am willing to trade up if and when one is released.

 

[Patrick Soucy]

Loved the movie/story, but the shaky cam was too bad for me.

Even in the calm scene, the first scene in the chamber... The window is there, no it's gone, oh, it's back... gone... back...

So, I'll not buy it, I was really upset when I watched this in theater. I wasn't able to stick on the story, always trying not to think about the camera movement.

 

[Neil Joseph]

Nice review!!

I missed this theatrically. If I rate the first filma 7/10 then how would this one rate?

 

[PatW]

So, I'll not buy it, I was really upset when I watched this in theater. I wasn't able to stick on the story, always trying not to think about the camera movement.


I'm with you and it's too bad. This is a really good movie. My brother will be buying it on Tuesday at Futureshop. I'm going to watch it again with him to see if the camera movement is just as bad on a smaller screen. My guess
is, that it will be.

 

[Andy Patrizio]

Thank you, Daniel. (I've been getting an earful all week on our boards)

The film aside, the video performance was a letdown, and there was no sugarcoating that one. Just too much background noise and softness/haloing.

When this film streets, I want to know if people agree with me that the best scene was the one they cut. It was a meeting in the Westin Hotel lobby where the whole story was tied up and everything explained.

One thing I don't mind debating: did anyone else have a problem with the whole story being built on that fingerprint? I mean, no one asked aloud, why would an experienced agent make such a basic, newbie mistake? That got under my skin.

 

[Jonathan White]

This bothered me but not as much as the lack of disguise used by Bourne. Hasn't he heard of a fake beard, glasses or a hat? He would have saved himself so much trouble by wearing these.

I loved the film and the shaky cam was never distracted me, I hope they make a third one.

 

[Greg Robinson]

Just thought I'd chime in here. My wife and I LOVE the first film - we've seen it at least three or four times. We'd been dying to see Supremacy and we just finished with the DVD. Two comments - one on the film and one on the image quality.

It's been said plenty here, but my wife and I absolutely HATED HATED HATED Greengrass' camera work in this film. I will admit that handhelds can put you in the thick of things and can be appropriate SOMETIMES. But the whole damned movie?? A simple zoom in on a photograph does not have to shake and twist. Most times, we couldn't even tell what the heck was going on because of the editing and camera work. I really hope Doug Liman is back for Bourne 3. The car chase from Bourne Identity is one of my favorites on film. The car chase in Supremacy was hard to follow at times and the camera work had me angry at the movie and not enjoying the scene.

Second - the DVD image. I wasn't using a properly calibrated projector, but the image looked way too dark. I need to watch some of it again on a properly-calibrated projector, but Spiderman 2 and Hulk looked fine on this same setup and Supremacy looked much too dark. The darkness combined with the camera work had us rather dissappointed. The Dolby 5.1 was very good though. DTS would have been nice, but....

I'll give it another spin before making any final decisions...

 

[Tim Glover]

Thanks for the review Greg. I really must have been in a fog or something because like I've stated already, I just didn't notice the shaky camera stuff. I haven't watched the dvd yet but plan on this tomorrow.

 

[James_S]

I missed this one in the theater. Picked it up today and will watch it this weekend.

 

[Paul_Scott]

UGH!

i had the exact same experience as Greg.
Loved the first film,
hated
hated
hated
the camera work/editing here.
in fact, i didn't make it past the first 15 minutes.
in that time there were already two sequences where i felt like i was fighting with the film to stay inside it and not be left as just a detached observer.
which is where i ended up.
i find it really curious that some people find the camera work puts them into the film more, while i just find it distances me completely.
for me this was the Moulin Rouge of action/suspense thrillers.
so if you liked MR, go for TBS, it should be right up your alley.

i'm just thankful this came in from Netflix, because despite all the bad stuff i'd heard about the filming style, i was still ready to make it a blind buy given the good first week street prices.
i still may give it another shot tonight, but i doubt i will change my opinion much.

this film was a massive disappointment based on its aggressive, & extremely self conscious, style alone

 

[Dan Kaplan]

Just watched it, and the camera work was ... absolutely horrible. An otherwise excellent movie was thoroughly ruined by this needless and miserable choice. If anyone like myself has reservations, stick with a rental and hopefully we can send a message that garbage like this belongs on MTV, not the big screen.

I really did like the movie, though. A/V quality was perfectly adequate; on par with most other new releases.

Dan

 

[Tim Glover]

Just watched the dvd. Had planned on seeing this Thurs eve but counldn't wind down from the day so watched this.

It's an excellent presentation. From some reviews I was expecting a soft and very dark image. It was intentionally dark but also had good clarity and depth. I thought facial tones were well saturated and while it made alot of them look fairly tanned, it also made the picture come alive during the dark scenes. Looked really nice on my 106 inch screen. Nice job there Universal.

Audio was great. Atmospheric and dynamic. Too bad no dts, but the Dolby Digital track is great. A little lacking in the bass department at times, but still effective.

As you know I've defended the jittery camera feel of Supremacy in this thread. Part of that was not really remembering having much on an issue when I saw this theatrically. I only saw this once and it was in a very large theater. I sat 2/3 back too.

Watching again on dvd, I was aware of the jitter, quick cuts, and you are there feel. It was a little distracting at times, but doesn't get in the way of this great film. I wouldn't have used it and it would have been equally effective without it, but it was done well. Man on Fire bothered me much more.

This Bourne series is really top-notch and has me caring for him, and what happens in his life. Something that has probably never happened in the Bond series. To some degree, I felt that with Cruise and Mission Impossible, but I feel more of a connection with Bourne.

Credit that to good screenplay, tight direction, and spot on acting.

I eagerly await The Bourne Ultimatum

 

[Brandon Conway]

I loved the movie in the theaters, and I loved it on my DVD.

The camera work was a little overdone, but no where near the level of horrific madness it is at times made out to be, IMO. If he had stabilized it just a tad the film would have been a 10/10 instead of a 9/10. Not at all done to the point where it took me out of the film for more than a fleeting moment. I was gripped from start to finish. Just my opinion, of course.

(The first film ranks as a 8/10 for me).

 

[PatW]

The camera work was a little overdone, but no where near the level of horrific madness it is at times made out to be, IMO.

I think it depends on the person and their susceptibility
to becoming nauseated and dizzy with frequent movement.
Even though I loved the movie, I wish I could say the camera
movement didn't bother me but that's not the case. It sounds
like it's just as bad on the small screen as it was in the
theatre.

 

[Dan Kaplan]

Those not troubled by the camera work should consider themselves very lucky, as you're among the select few able to fully enjoy the movie.

It sounds like even those not terribly bothered by it would agree it was a foolish stylistic choice, one that serves no purpose other than to alienate a large portion of the audience. Horrific or otherwise, that deserves to be made known before someone else makes the same mistake.

Dan

 

[Alex K.]

I think you people are getting old. Sure, I had those narcoleptic outbursts in the cinema too, and was pretty much asleep during the last part, but the style of this movie was refreshlingy new and it was great. Neat movie, even at second viewing. My order is in.