Body of Lies Movie - Review

Supposedly a thriller drama, this movie was expected to soar tidal highs at the box office. Pardon me for being judgmental but when ace director Ridley Scott decides to cast his safest bet Russell Crowe along with versatile actor Leonardo Di Caprio, one can only expect the best. The story begins with Roger Ferris (Di Caprio), a CIA agent trying to hunt down a high-profile Muslim terrorist - leader Ferris devises a plan to infiltrate his network, but CIA veteran Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe) backing is more than impossible to attain. He therefore resorts to Hani (Mark Strong), head of Jordanian intelligence. Ferris has to place a risky bet to get to his target. In his pursuit of tracking down, he looses his trusted people as well as nearly stakes the people he loves; with conflicting alternatives, of trusting his instincts or allies. The movie can be considered as a near authentic depiction of the deceit and treachery that involves in high profile government anti- terrorist, anti-crime organizations.The exposition of the plot is interestin but long (almost 45 minutes), while the body of the story only manages to pull itself towards the climax- which again is a disappointment as the unfurling of events are very predictable. "Departed" writer William Monahan's adaptation of Washington Post columnist David Ignatius's novel provides Scott with dense criss-crossing plots, but the twists and revelation fail to create any element of surprise which is generally the essence of a thriller. Sequences of blasts, shootout and terrorists attacks have been shot authentically and provide the necessary credibility. The scenes of violent interrogations within dark enclosed spaces (hammered fingers et all) might send down a chill or two down your spine There's even a romantic sub-plot with Ferris(Caprio) constantly seeking attention of a native nurse. This isn't intriguing but adds up to an important plot element towards the end. A galore of telephonic conversation between Caprio and Crowe gets a little tedious. You have to get locked to those conversations to understand the story's progression. Body of Lies is exciting enough while it's unfolding, but there is nothing new to it except the visual global tracking (that again wouldn't intrigue you much if you are used to GPRS or Google Maps). Worse, there aren't enough power packed scenes between Caprio and Crowe.The wide canvas created by cinematographer Alexander Witt especially in the desert scenes is worth watching. Music by Marc Streitenfeld gets overpowered by the numerous phone calls between the two lead actors.Leonardo Di caprio, as always manages to captivate the audience; but perhaps it's time he takes a break from this action mode (as we have seen him as the same old smart yet suffering spy in his past few releases). Crowe put on oodles of weight and dyed his hair to deliver a successful performance as the dispassionate CIA veteran Ed Hoffman. Mark Strong comes out prominent as the Jordanian intelligence head- Hani with a superior ego.Once your popcorns are over you just realize that, Body Of Lies is just another Hollywood multi-starrer revolving around Middle East conflicts, the flavor of the hour. In the words of noted critic Des Partridge (Daily Telegraph) "It's a gangster movie without cops and criminals".