Body of Lies

If telling a Body of Lies doesn't hunt your conscience, then maybe you're fit to be a spy. It's Leonardo DiCaprio, so what the heck. Hehe.

The film follows the story of a CIA operative Roger Farris (Dicaprio), the man on the ground, and Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe), the man with the phone and satellite what-have-yous, tracking down a terrorist. The story reveals the amount of deceit and secrecy—either with decorated officials or with people who are easily dispensable—involved in these kinds of operations. They do everything to get vital intel and thus get the bad guy. But in this world of espionage, you don't really know who your enemies or your friends are.

Roger Farris is the heart of the movie, and I must admit, Leo has grown as an actor from his portrayal of Romeo in the modern adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Ed Hoffman is just plain cold, though he appeared to want to protect his colleague (Crowe, by the way, is a good actor, but not so much of a hunk here. Boo.). And this precise difference in personalities works for the film. Throw in the Jordanian Intelligence head and the terrorist in the mix, and you've got four different minds set to doing what they feel is the right way (or the only way) to do things.

Overall I'd say it's just another spy movie, but with DiCaprio and Crowe in the mix, it's definitely something to watch. I can't say it'll alter someone's take on espionage, though, or the way Americans deal with terrorists or international relations. As Ed said, "No one's innocent in this shit." Indeed, no one is. But how well do you sleep at night?


Body Of Lies gets six out of ten, for spy agents DiCaprio and Crowe really, and for Uncle Sam’s faulty ways.


*photo from allmoviephoto.com