Critic Reviews

Granted, "Treadstone" (the name comes from the secret operation that turned Bourne into a weapon) proceeds a little too slowly in terms of connecting the dots, but the show doesn't scrimp on action, and those who enjoyed the movies should find tantalizing threads in this expansion of the narrative.

Right now, “Treadstone” is a diverting series about an organization so diffuse that it’s easier understood as background noise between action. In the episodes and, perhaps, seasons to come, I’m hoping the show gives us more by paring back.

It’s a visually stimulating series that looks to have filmed in many locations around the world, leaving viewers with curiosities aroused just enough to keep tuning in for more if only for the fights.

Treadstone is the far more simplistic and far less cool cousin, in both its direction and its dialogue, a show in need of an added oomph to turn it into something really special. But as it stands, as a show we really didn’t need in the first place, it’s a pacy and entertaining journey that does more than it could have done with the loose pitch of finding a way to force Bourne back on to the small screen.

This one is heavy on scenery and action, and thin on profundity.

The globetrotting and time-jumping to different “Bournes” makes for a show that’s hard to follow and gives us too little reason to make the effort. ... Even the fight scenes, a hallmark of the Bourne movies, are poorly done. ... Whoever thought turning a show built around a someone like Jason Bourne into an ensemble of forgettable quasi-Bournes was a good idea should be put in a government program themselves.

The missing ingredient, however, is the writing. Treadstone is all action and no brains. ... While lots of action films require the audience to suspend disbelief at times, Treadstone requires them to saw the tops of their own heads off and remove the gooey blob inside. It's the only way you'll survive the writing. Even the actors sometimes look stunned.