A roller-coaster thriller

Rating: 9/10 (6 December 2008)

It didn't take long to realise that this film would be quite different from the opening scenes Maria was shot and killed, this was a major shock as Franka Potente had second billing on the cast list. While that was happening in Goa a CIA meet with an informant in Berlin is interrupted by an assassin who leaves evidence at the scene which suggests that Bourne was the killer.
He returns to Europe in an attempt to discover why the CIA are trying to kill him, in the process he learns that Operation Treadstone has been terminated and that he was a suspect in a recent murder in Berlin. When he gets to Berlin he ends up playing cat and mouse with the CIA who are looking for him although this being Bourne one can never be sure who is the cat and who is the mouse.
This is one of the most action packed films I've seen and the way it is filmed makes one feel part of the action rather than a mere observer. I thought Paul Greengrass's direction was top notch although people who dislike shaky camera-work would probably hate it. The acting is great, especially from Matt Damon in the title role and the always excellent Brian Cox is great as a somewhat suspect senior CIA officer. The action includes several fights, a chase through Berlin and a car chase though Moscow where Bourne has gone on a personal mission that I won't spoil here.