The Bourne Supremacy

Espionage thriller

(July 23)

Universal

With: Matt Damon, Joan Allen, Brian Cox, Julia Stiles, Karl Urban.

The idea: Assassin Bourne again finds himself navigating the intricate world of the international spy game.

Writers: Tony Gilroy based on novel by Robert Ludlum.

Director: Paul Greengrass.

Under Doug Liman’s direction, the introduction to Matt Damon’s amnesiac assassin delivered a refreshing surprise two summers ago. For the second adaptation based on the Robert Ludlum novels, similar outside-the-box thinking led to director Paul Greengrass (“Bloody Sunday”), whose arrestingly gritty, realistic style increases the likelihood that this sequel, with most of the other original participants returning, will be something altogether out of the ordinary.