better than identity, equal to supremacy, not as good as ultimatum

Rating: 8/10 (15 September 2012)

The reason this film isn't rated higher is the opening minutes which show flashbacks to the previous film The Bourne Ultimatum. I don't want to know about Bourne's story. Its been done. I don't miss Matt Damon or Julie Styles or anyone else.
Jeremy Renner is great as Aaron Cross. he's younger, more likable and in better shape than Matt Damon, at least in Ultimatum where Damon was overweight. He's also less wooden in his interactions with other people.
OK so the opening scenes are slow and there is too much exposition and dialogue. When things get going however the pace never lets up.
Things brighten considerably when Rachel comes onto the scene. She looks better than she did in the Mummy years ago and is a fantastic actress.
The scene in the lab is suspenseful and horrifying in its echoes of recent real life tragedies. By the time Rachel and Jeremy team up in a scene that sees Cross dispatch four heavily armed assassins you'll be thinking Matt who?
From there the suspense never lets up with the two on the run across continents culminating in a fantastic prolonged chase in Manila. This is reminiscent of the Moscow chase in Supremacy but thankfully Gilroy eschews shaky cam so you can see what is going on.
Worth watching.