FAQ for
The Bourne Supremacy (2004) More at IMDbPro »

The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. Spoiler tags have been used sparingly in order to make the page more readable.

For detailed information about the amounts and types of (a) sex and nudity, (b) violence and gore, (c) profanity, (d) alcohol, drugs, and smoking, and (e) frightening and intense scenes in this movie, consult the IMDb Parents Guide for this movie. The Parents Guide for The Bourne Supremacy can be found here.

Yes. The Bourne Supremacy (1980) is a 1987 novel by American author Robert Ludlum [1927-2001]. It was adapted for the screen by screenwriter Tony Gilroy. The Bourne Supremacy is a sequel to The Bourne Identity (2002) and is followed by The Bourne Ultimatum (2007).

In the beginning of the film, Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) and his girlfriend Marie (Franka Potente) are talking about his dreams and he mentions the time frame -- two years have passed.

Kirill (Karl Urban) didn't know that Jason and Marie had switched places in the car. He thought that Bourne was still driving, so that's where he aimed.

Pamela Landy (Joan Allen), Deputy Director of the CIA, was investigating the theft of $20 million from the CIA. She had learned that the CIA agent who stole the $20 Million was named by Russian politician Vladimir Neski in the "Neski Files," so she wanted to get her hands on them. She offered $3 million for the files and sent an agent to complete the exchange in an office building in Berlin. During the exchange, an assassin plants Bourne's fingerprint on a bomb in the building's basement, killing the agent and the source along with stealing the files and the $3 million.

As Deputy Director of the CIA and Landy's boss, Ward Abbott (Brian Cox)'s concern was simply to get Landy off the case and off his back. His name was mentioned in the Neski file as a traitor, so he had to try and keep it out of Landy's hands. He tried to shift suspicion to Conklin (Chris Cooper) who was already dead and could not defend himself. Abbott set up Bourne as the one who had killed Landy's agents and stolen the file, as he believed that Bourne was dead or long gone missing, and that this would be a dead end for Landy's investigation. Bourne was the ideal scapegoat anyway, as he was the one who silenced Neski, so it made some sense that Bourne would try to finish his mission and get rid of Neski's surviving testimony as well. The big flaw in the plan was that Bourne was supposed to die in India, which did not happen. On the contrary, this only caused Bourne to become personally involved in the plot.

Abbott and a Russian oil millionaire (Gretkov) conspired to make money out of Russian oil by buying 'drilling rights' in the Caspian Sea using the CIA $20 million that went missing (actually stolen by Abbott). Russian politician Vladimir Neski was in the way by opposing the privatization of oil and was about to reveal the identity of the thief, so Abbott called in Bourne to kill him. Mrs Nesky was simply in the way. This was Bourne's first hit.

In an earlier scene, when Bourne was talking to Landy on her cellphone, he tells her that he wants Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles), who is standing next to Landy, to meet him in the Alexanderplatz and that Landy should give her cellphone to Nicky. When Bourne calls Nicky, he is calling her on Landy's cell.

The following timeline was compiled by user Mentattodd and was established using only what was seen in the film. Nothing was used from commentaries or outside sources. For a recap of events previous to The Bourne Supremacy, see this FAQ entry for The Bourne Identity (2002).

2004: Marie is assassinated, most likely in mid to late November

2004: Bourne visits with Irena Neski and apologizes for killing her parents (the last week of November, no means to determine the "exact" date)

The director, Paul Greengrass, treats the material with gravity and uses good actors in well-written supporting roles elevates the movie above its genre, but not quite out of it." -- Roger Ebert

"A nonstop chase that serves its dish of post-Cold War spy games very cold but with a pungent trace of melancholy." -- Variety

"I thoroughly enjoyed The Bourne Supremacy, although I can safely say that about 90% of the time I had no idea what was going on." -- Mark Englehart, IMDb

"Action has moved to the fore, shouldering aside plot and character development in order to maintain the frantic pace that director Paul Greengrass believes is necessary to retain his audience's attention." -- James Berardenelli, reelviews

"Brutal and cold-blooded like its leading character; we're rooting for Bourne not because he's a hero but simply by default." -- Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide

No. In the last scene, however, he speaks with Landy on the telephone, and she informs him that his real name is David Webb.

Of course, see The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Ultimatum, the other two movies in the Bourne series. For other movies that feature special agents facing deadly complications, try xXx (2002), in which an athlete is recruited by the government to infiltrate an underground Russian crime ring. In The Transporter (2002) , an ex-special forces operator, now working as a goods transporter who asks no questions, breaks the rules and peeks at his latest cargo. There's Three Days of the Condor (1975), in which a CIA researcher must outwit hit men bent on killing him. In The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996), lost memories of herself as a top-secret agent begin to surface in an ordinary housewife. In Bullitt (1968), a cop searches for the killers of a witness that he was supposed to be protecting. Two cops attempt to intercept a big heroin shipment coming from France in The French Connection (1971). Also recommended by those who have seen The Bourne Identity are the Jackal movies -- The Day of the Jackal (1973) and The Jackal (1997) -- in which a professional assassin codenamed "Jackal" is sent on secret missions. Also consider the Ocean movies -- Ocean's Eleven (2001), Ocean's Twelve (2004), and Ocean's Thirteen (2007) -- in which Danny Ocean and his team of gangsters attempt to pull off major heists, and any of the James Bond films. Finally, you can check out Taken (2009), another thriller which involves an ex-CIA operative tracking down his daughter's kidnappers in Europe.