Very Passable "Bourne" Film, for a Fourth, Unneeded Sequel

Rating: 7/10 (26 February 2013)

Expanding the mythology already established in previous films for no particular creative purpose except "people like those Bourne movies," this fourth installment is a watered-down yet wholly acceptable "Bourne" film. Do you like "those Bourne movies"?
Warning: it's the weakest of them. It's 72% as riveting as "Bourne Identity," about 91% as good as "Bourne Supremacy," and 65% as strong as "Bourne Ultimatum."
But most sequels to classic franchises aren't even in the same ballpark of quality--which is why I stress those slightly absurd numbers. If you want to see a film almost as good as "The Bourne Supremacy"--here it is.
As a fan of the Matt Damon trilogy, you might resent the opening-up of seemingly closed narrative threads--but the film delivers an authentic "Bourne" experience, nonetheless. Barring objections to the plot in light of the series having "ended" in "Bourne Ultimatum," you're in slasher franchise territory, on some level--you either like the formula or you don't. The recipe for entertaining filmmaking has not been botched, due to the inclusion of series scribe Tony Gilroy as creative mastermind. Everything feels plausible, exciting and categorically better than any "action" film has been in years, except for "those Bourne movies."
Despite the addition of near-science-fiction to the mythos, the film is far more realistic and credible than poor "Bourne" knock-offs like "Hanna" and "Salt." As a fourth sequel, that's remarkable quality control. Gilroy probably could have made a good "Die Hard" film if the executives at Fox weren't barking Chimpanzees.