Two summers ago, a quiet spy thriller opened by the name of “The Bourne Identity.” It was a modest hit by current box office standards, but business was brisk on VHS and DVD.

Flash back to the present and its sequel, “The Bourne Supremacy,” is set to become a genuine hit in theaters. Matt Damon returns as the amnesiac title character, Jason Bourne: the super spy with memory loss. In a surprise turn of modern movie-making, the entire cast returns for a second run — granted they survived the first movie.

Brian Cox and Julia Stiles, the two best recognized faces aside from Matt Damon, return to their small roles, though they are given more screen time. As with the last, Cox is like a vacuum, being the dominant force in every scene, and Stiles revives perfectly the quiet logistics officer who knows far more than she ever lets on. The new addition to the cast is Joan Allen, who plays Pamela Landy, who is out for Bourne’s head. Damon’s love interest Franke Potente is back as Marie, giving Bourne a sense of humanity.

For a spy thriller, the quality of this movie is surprising. Most of the film is simplistic in nature. The action is intimate and the dialogue is rapid fire. This movie presents the murky world of international espionage by way of incidents great and small.

The movie starts out quietly in a dark building under surveillance where two agents are killed and Bourne is framed. The film quickly moves to India where Bourne and Marie are in exile away from the wired world. Shots are fired, people are killed, and the film takes off and the pace never lets up.

The action is more personal than other thrillers of this genre. Death is never glorified and the anti-hero never boasts or displays the typical machismo and bravado. Damon’s build in this movie is impressive, but his physical presence is subdued by his boyish face. That is perhaps the movie’s greatest asset. Bourne surprises his enemies not only by his mind but also his physical skill. The effect is a general care for Bourne’s well-being, and this is something that a lot of spy-thrillers lack.

As with “The Bourne Identity,” there is another spy who plays opposite to Damon’s Bourne. Karl Urban plays Kirlill, whose look is sharp and that of someone whose every movement is calculated for maximum intimidation. The cat and mouse game results in one of the most impressive car chases to dawn the screen.

If James Bond is the martini of the spy genre, Jason Bourne is the genre’s hard liquor. All the spit and polish of the Bond movies is thrown out for steady-cam jitters and a sense of familiarity. Where Bond is a sociopathic killer, Bourne is the man who cares to redeem himself of his past — whether he remembers it or not.