After avenging his girlfriend’s death and putting an end to the sinister Treadstone programme that made him the super-efficient killing machine he is today, Jason Bourne (Damon) still can’t piece together his past.

Forced to lie low while seeking his answers, Bourne suddenly finds himself back on top of the CIA’s hitlist when his story is resurrected by Guardian reporter Simon Ross (Paddy Considine).

Ross has also stumbled across ‘Blackbriar’, the US government’s latest black-ops department that makes Treadstone look like the Girl Guides.

The Defense Department’s voice of reason Pam Landy (Joan Allen) argues that Bourne is not a security risk. But her views are not shared by Blackbriar’s pit-bullish chief Noah Vosen (David Strathairn), whose ‘kill everyone’ approach to tying up loose ends is highly effective.

So now we’re off, as Bourne’s meeting with Ross becomes a heart-stopping pursuit through Waterloo station that ends with an almighty punch-up in Thresher’s (and how much did the audience love that?).

The race to find Ross’s source takes Bourne to Madrid and a reunion with his old CIA acquaintance Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles). Then there’s an explosive encounter in Tangier before everything terminates in New York.

Tracked and targeted by Vosen and his army of lethal lackeys at every turn, Bourne delivers a quick-thinking masterclass in staying one step ahead.

It’s breathless, breakneck stuff but with Supremacy’s Tony Gilroy amongst the writers, the script is super-sharp and completely coherent.

They’ve done wonders in making a silk purse out of Robert Ludlum’s sow’s ear of a spy novel... without resorting to any of that nonsense about shaken vodka-martinis or messages that self-destruct in ten seconds.

Greengrass pulls it all together in his unique, primarily hand-held style which creates tension and urgency even in the quieter moments. But beyond that, he also manages to surpass the bone-jarring action of the last Bourne show.

Whether it’s the battle of Waterloo, a killer being hammered with a hardback, or Bourne’s stolen cop car doing cartwheels in Manhattan, every fight and chase scene leaves you with virtual whiplash.

It also leaves you in no doubt that Bourne is superhuman. But Damon’s hero feels real; a man of few words and unwavering resolve, prepared to go to any lengths to rediscover his soul.

With Scott Glenn and Albert Finney rounding out the exemplary cast, Greengrass and his crew have made the most tightly plotted, perfectly paced, and brilliantly edited piece of action cinema in many a year.

They never hand out the big Oscars for this kind of thing, but they should start thinking about it. It’s that good.

Elliott Noble