Quickcard Review Body of Lies Directed by: Ridley Scott Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Mark Strong, Golshifteh Farahani Time: 2 hrs 10 mins Rating: R
Plot: Ed Hoffman (Crowe) pulls the strings from afar, as Roger Ferris (DiCaprio) conducts high-risk missions in the Middle East in an attempt to take down terrorists. Things get complicated with Roger falls for Aisha (Golshifteh Farahani) and must make difficult decisions about who his friends and allies truly are.
Overall: There is definitely enough to keep you interested, but as soon as the film ends, its purpose instantly disappears. What's the point? The fact that Roger could have turned to Ed and said, "I got to go see about a girl," (stolen of course from Good Will Hunting), comes close to negating the impact this film should have. The story is the downfall here. DiCaprio's accent fits better than it did in Blood Diamond, along with Crowe and his method-acting weight gain ... both are very good.
It's too bad Crowe couldn't fully let loose. Apparently we'll have to hope for the DVD extras for his best line in the film (which didn't make the final cut). After Ed shows up in Roger's apartment, Roger asks how Ed's flight went, to which Ed responds, "'I watched that Poseidon ... It was like watching a Greek girl get a bikini wax. I had no idea when it was going to end."
But the story keeps revolving around one key point ... mistakes happen. Every time the super-intelligent Ed gets close to making headway in the War on Terror, someone makes a stupid mistake, or someone can't be trusted, and it gets exhausting. You never get a sense of where the film is going. And it's not in that excited kind of way, with a great mystery involved. Sure, this might be the actual hell of war, but it doesn't interpret well on the screen, especially when they add-on a love interest for Roger that makes him lose his head (not literally, don't worry).
Body of Lies starts off very promising, and again, every one gives a great performance, including Farahani, but it's a simple case of the parts not adding up to a fantastic film.
Final Score: 6/10
CLICK HERE to read McLaughlin's full scorecard review CLICK HERE to read Allen's narrative review