The characters in this movie have depth, and the dialogue manages to avoid cliché, allowing us to think even as we wonder about what’s coming next – not an easy accomplishment for this genre. A buffed-up Damon does a great job with the role and is very compelling with his stoic but scared Bourne. The inimitable Cox also offers a phenomenal performance, handling the twists and turns of his character with great depth. From an artistic perspective, only two things hinder this film – the acting of Joan Allen and Julia Stiles.

Stile’s performance, which alternates between melodramatic and lackluster, is not a surprise, and it’s fortunate that Greengrass keeps her onscreen very little. But Allen’s one-dimensional Landy is unexpected, given her three (merited) Oscar nominations, and it hinders the film. Thankfully, the plot is so well-planned and the pacing and other performances are so pitch-perfect that the damage is minimal.

Sets are an interesting part of this film, which begins on a beach in India (Goa, on the southwestern coast) and ends on the snowy streets of Moscow, by way of Berlin. The Moscow scenes were filmed in East Berlin, which resembles that Russian city due to its many years under communist leadership. Special experts were brought in for the many stunts that include a car barreling though the side of a bridge and plunging into murky water and a violent crash inside a tunnel. Damon, who did most of his own stunts, trained with a S.W.A.T. expert and had to learn to handle a barrage of weapons including a .38 Special, a 9mm Beretta and .308 rifle.

The pay-off is a suspense-filled, heart-pounding drama that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The action is far more realistic than the first “Bourne,” which was good, but which included cartoon-like “swish-swish” sounds every time Bourne fought someone, and which reminded me of the fake “click” my digital camera makes. There are also noticeably less obscenities and profanities in this sequel, and no sex scenes. Quick-cut editing and documentary-like cinematography, like the shaky hand-held shots used in “Bloody Sunday,” keep the film edgy and interesting.

All in all, a good film for adults who enjoy thrillers and who can handle the violence.

OBJECTIONABLE CONTENT

• Drugs/Alcohol Content:  Several characters drink alcohol; brief smoking.
• Language/Profanity:  A half-dozen mild obscenities and several profanities.
• Sexual Content/Nudity:  Unmarried man and woman live and sleep together (fully clothed).
• Violence:  Very graphic violence that includes guns and shooting; blood and serious injuries; car chases; property destruction; violent car crash; car plunges into lake, trapping people; woman drowns; fighting; hitting; stabbing; strangling; people shot at point-blank range; snipers poised to kill; government employees instructed to kill; government leaders kill; man commits suicide with gun.