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"Though it carries moral messages (or perhaps because it does) The Bourne Supremacy is still supremely thrilling," says Megan Basham (CBN). "Rarely does it fail to stimulate our eyes even as it speaks to our heads. That's a rare thing for this genre and it is certainly worth cheering (or at least paying eight bucks). While the acting and direction are top-notch, what I like best about this thriller is that it presents violence-soaked Americans with a spy who comes to understand the spiritual consequence of taking life—even if one is just following orders."

Evan D. Baltz (Christian Spotlight) says, "Damon is masterful in this second installment. He plays Bourne as dead serious and realistically skilled. The movie feels real. I'll leave the surprises for you to discover, but I won't be surprised at all if we have one or perhaps many more Bourne adventures."

Harry Forbes (Catholic News Service) is not quite as impressed. "The Bourne Identity was one of the best suspense thrillers in recent years. Its sequel … is a good suspense yarn, but not quite on the level of the first. Greengrass … favors too many quick cuts and jerky camera movements."

Michael Elliott (Movie Parables) agrees that the director's "handheld 'shaky cam' approach quickly becomes tiresome and annoying." He concludes, "[The film's] goal seems to be to mirror the success of the original film by copying the elements of the story as closely as possible."

Mainstream critics give it better-than-average marks, and a few are quite enthusiastic. Many are noting the differences between the acting careers of Matt Damon and his famous friend Ben Affleck—where Affleck has chosen many big and flashy roles and soiled his reputation with mediocrity, Damon is proving to be a more discerning, patient, and talented actor. He'll be onscreen again soon in the heist flick Ocean's Twelve.

And, writing about The Bourne Supremacy, he says that Damon gives "a beautifully controlled performance. Action movie superlatives—taut, thrilling, gripping, exhilarating, etc.—are overused and rarely deserved. The Bourne Supremacy, on the other hand, consistently shows that it has earned most of those superlatives."

Kevin Miller (Hollywood Jesus) also celebrates The Bourne Supremacy. "What allows this film—and the franchise—to transcend its genre is that it dares to give its lead character a third dimension. Bourne may have been programmed to be a heartless killer, but even the best programming cannot suppress his conscience. Since getting amnesia, he has been 'Bourne again,' and it becomes clear that the search for his identity is not so much about self-illumination as it is about atoning for sins he can't even remember committing."

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