The in-camera gimmick, with Freeman literally phoning it in on Rose's headset, lends a strangely passive, vicarious overlay to much of the action - which is not particularly well-marshalled.

The film's most unintentionally self-aware moment is Damon saying, "I sleep just fine." You'll do that too if forced to sit through Vanquish.

it's a form of actor abuse to see the legendary Morgan Freeman trapped in this relentlessly violent and vapid mess that does offer one lesson to students of cinema in how to do everything calamitously wrong.

The bland band of supporting players and the even more forgettable story (complete with a preposterous ending) are liabilities too big to overcome.