The Affleck gap grows: "The Bourne Ultimatum"

Seriously, is Damon even taking his buddy's calls these days? He's got a great spy movie franchise going, and Benny's walking around mumbling, "They're going to greenlight 'Daredevil 2' any day now, I know it ... "

My man love for Damon is no secret. It's like my other guy, Paul Rudd, said in "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," I always thought Matty was a Streisand, too, but he really did rock the sh*t in "The Bourne Identity." Along the way, he also (a) was in legit movies like "Syriana," "The Departed" and "The Good Shepherd" and (b) had fun with roles of varying size in "Dogma," "Stuck on You," the "Oceans" movies and, yes, "EuroTrip." Have NO idea how he ended up with a cameo in that last one, but it was awesome. Scotty doesn't know, Scotty doesn't know ...

So yeah, I love the guy. How can you not? Which means I was pumped for the latest Bourne movie, which I slipped out to see Sunday night.

Our story is a straight-up continuation of the series' previous installment, "The Bourne Supremacy." Bourne (Damon, as if you didn't know), still with a bit of a memory problem, is trying to find out who was behind the super-secret program that made him a killing machine. Oh, and behind the death of his girlfriend, too. I've already forgotten how many countries this quest takes him to, but he bounces around looking for clues while trying to avoid other badasses dispatched to kill him and others with loose lips.

While the spy stuff might seem a little complicated, it's really a simple story: Who am I, and who do I have to kill to find that out? Damon continues his mastery of the role. No glib James Bond jive here ... he's all bidness. Still pretty sad about his girl, as well as the whole "They stole my life" thing. Or did they?

Plenty of other good actors here, too. Joan Allen is back from Bourne 2 as a CIA officer, and, amazingly, she keeps getting better and better looking. Really ... it's mind-boggling. She just turned 51 but looks 10 years younger and much hotter -- in an elegant, smart way -- than 10 years ago. I mean, Julia Stiles is in this movie, too, and looks OK. But she's no Joan.

As for the fellas, Scott Glenn isn't around much as the CIA director but is sufficiently slimy. Paddy Considine is an investigative journalist in over his head. Albert Finney is a shady CIA doctor and David Strathairn is the CIA deputy director and primary thorn in Bourne's side. All are solid.

Other pluses are the frenetic pacing and some nice action scenes. In short, the movie isn't boring, and the whole quest for justice gives it a little depth. But -- and you knew there was a but -- I have a gripe that falls somewhere between nothing and middling. I really, really hate to mention it, because I like director Paul Greengrass a lot, but ...

Well, let's just ask this: Would it kill the guy to use a SteadiCam once in a while?

As I've mentioned in a couple of other Greengrass-related posts, his penchant for handheld cameras and getting right in there during fight scenes can -- can -- work well. Was huge in both "United 93" and "Bloody Sunday." But the Bourne movies ... well, it's just a little much for me. I can tolerate the frequent over-the-shoulder shots when two people are talking across a table to each other. But I gotta have a wider shot of at least some of the fight and chase scenes. Not Greengrass, though. He thinks you need to be in the middle of it. A lot of critics agree, saying his technique brings gritty realism, or something like that, to the movie. Sadly, I think it can be overkill.

Yeah, I said "sadly." That's because I generally liked "Ultimatum," just as I generally liked "Supremacy." But I still like "Identity" -- directed by Doug Liman of "Swingers" fame -- best. Because it's a little cleaner and sharper, at least to me, it seems nice and lean instead of dark and messy. True, the latter may be more appropriate to the whole spy game. But come on, man, at least let me see what's going on. If I wanted to watch a Matt Damon movie and not see his face, I'd rent "Titan A.E." (Hey, someone has to. How many people saw that, 12?)