This is how sequels are made.

Rating: 8/10 (28 October 2011)

This film was surprisingly satisfying for a sequel, in fact it could probably stand alone, as there is plenty of background provided throughout the film. Although the plot line is a little cliché (ex-spy tries to settle down with girl, spy's old boss kills girl, ex-spy seeks revenge), the way Bourne is depicted is surprisingly realistic, which is in keeping with the original film, Bourne Identity. He doesn't manage to keep it together the way characters such as his often do. He is shown throughout the film as unstable, which gives us continuity from the previous film, and allows us to relate to him more than characters like James Bond, for example. Compared to the regular action man, Bourne is innocence one minute, murder the next, a deeply flawed, guilt-tripped, nervous wreck with a smooth finish, making him both identifiable and undefinable with his complexity. The other characters in the film are also well portrayed, Nicky reacts perfectly to encountering a human killing machine, Pamela Landy is both tough and vulnerable when dealing with Bourne, Krill, the Russian assassin, is cold and calculating to the end, and Ward Abbott's eventual suicide was surprising yet appropriate for the classic good-guy-turns-out-to-be-bad villain.