Jason Bourne

Matt Damon returns in the, imaginatively titled, Jason Bourne. Jeremy Renner-starring Legacy firmly behind them (no silly blue and green pills here, although a Renner-helmed Bourne follow-up is reportedly in the works.) Damon reunites with Paul Greengrass; the Bourne dream-team.

Once again, this latest instalment absolutely slays all post-Casino Royale Daniel Craig Bonds and exposes them for the archaic, stuck-in-the-muds that they are. Bourne's gritty realism, coupled with Greengrass' postmodern handheld, intrusive camera-work, shines once again in another follow-up which is, arguably, the best in the series to date.

So the concept is much the same: we see Bourne come out of exile, be alerted to yet another 'super-assassin' training program and corrupt CIA chief to expose (this time using a social-media platform to spy on the public) and being chased by an 'asset' whilst doing so. You know what to expect and, sure enough, it delivers on that and then some.

Once again, the action beats are thoroughly on-point. Meaty fight sequences (Bourne's household weapon of choice this time? A saucepan; not quite as cool as the hardback book used previously) and a breakneck Vegas car chase (best in the series to date this.)

Also, and again as always, the cast are perfect. Damon brings his anti-hero, unsmiling persona back to the, in some ways unlikable, Bourne but Greengrass uses Bourne less as main character and more just the leading piece of the puzzle driving things forward. The actual 'hero' of the piece is Riz Ahmed's Aaron Kalloor; the aforementioned social media CEO twinned with Alicia Vikander's smouldering new IT analyst Heather Lee (we cannot wait for Vikander's Tomb Raider movie.)

Tommy Lee-Jones and Vincent Cassel slot seamlessly in as 'villains' with interesting backgrounds tying them to the previous films.

It doesn't break too much new ground and, in fact, could probably be watched with no prior knowledge of the series to little noticeable effect (like Legacy before it) but moves things on a little with an ajar door for future instalments. Whilst we hope Bourne doesn't reach Bond-like levels of rut, every time Greengrass and Damon are involved I'll happily head back to the cinema and more of Vikander's Heather Lee as (POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT) the new CIA Chief is a tantalising prospect.

Great action, direction, grit and story. A solid, enjoyable action-er and a welcome return to this most excellent of series (which other series in memory gets better with each release?!)

4 stars ****