Greengrass takes the series to a whole new level

Rating: 8/10 (2 September 2016)

When we left Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) at the end of the previous film, The Bourne Identity (2002), he had managed to out-think and out- fight the CIA operatives gunning for his head, and had seemingly found a happy ending for himself in Goa, India with his girlfriend Marie (Franka Potente). But the laws of franchise film-making mean that the shady types hunting him down the last time still want him dead to tie off any loose ends, and Bourne must again use his CIA- trained super-soldier skills to escape anything coming his way. Dumping director Doug Liman turned out to be the wisest choice the producers made. No disrespect to Liman - Identity was a well-made film - but the hiring of Brit Paul Greengrass took the series to a whole new level.
Jason Bourne is still trying to piece together his memories - which appear to him in dreams Manchurian Candidate style - keeping a scrapbook in the hope of unravelling the mystery. One day he notices a man who looks oddly out of place, and Bourne's suspicions turn out to be justified as the man, played by Karl Urban, quickly tries to kill him, accidentally shooting Marie in the crossfire and leaving Bourne once again on the run and trying to figure out the plot against him. As we learn in the opening scene of the film, Bourne has been framed by some Russians for killing CIA agents during an operation overlooked by Deputy Director Pamela Landy (Joan Allen) to obtain some important documents on one of Bourne's previous kills.
The film takes Bourne to Naples, Munich and Moscow, but what makes this series superior to the continent-hopping of James Bond and his quest to bed every woman he comes across is Bourne's skill-set, as well as the gravitas Matt Damon brings to the role. Whether or not he will survive the encounter was never in question (especially with the knowledge that this is part of a book series by Robert Ludlum focusing on the character), but what makes it so thrilling is the way he dodges every bullet fired at him and dispatches every brooding assassin sent to get him. By keeping the action once again grounded, the fight scenes are brutal and messy (Bourne even convincingly beats someone up with a rolled-up magazine). Greengrass brings his famous shaky-cam to the proceedings, and although it occasionally induces sea-sickness, it transports you right in the middle of the fight.
Away from the action, a group of suits similar the ones in the previous film employ every spy trick in their power to track and take down their target, while trying to decipher Bourne's actions and motivations. It's incredibly similar to the plot of Identity, and in many ways to the next film, The Bourne Ultimatum, but you'll find it difficult to care that you're essentially watching the same film again when the action is this good. Greengrass also brings a dramatic edge that Liman failed to infuse into his film, with Bourne seeking out the daughter of a married couple he executed while still working for Treadstone in the hope of seeking forgiveness for his actions. That's not to say that Bourne spends the majority of the film pouting and brooding - the film is too fast-paced to stop and catch its breath for too long - but Damon does some great understated work here, and this is the main attraction, at least to me, of the trilogy.