Screenplay: I could not find the screenplay.ĭirectors’ Previous Movies: Prometheus, Bladerunner, White Squall. Whenever these two guys work together they make great movies. This movie marked the fourth time that director Ridley Scott and actor Russell Crowe have worked together (it is now up to five times Gladiator, A Good Year, American Gangster, Body of Lies, and Robin Hood). Mark Strong brings incredible screen presence in all of his scenes and keep in mind he did this in the shadow of two great actors. DiCaprio gives a well rounded performance that proves his strength as an actor. This is a very good film from Ridley Scott, he gets some outstanding performances from DiCaprio, Crowe, and Strong. The Western Culture clashes with the Middle Eastern Culture and Roger gets caught in the middle. In the world of espionage, secrets are standard operating procedure, so Roger must find a way to build trust with Hani without breaking it.
Hani (Strong) is the head of Jordanian Intelligence and he stresses to Roger that if they are to work together that he must never lie. Ed works form behind the scenes and Roger is on the ground with no where to hide. This puts Roger and the informant in trouble because his group will torture him to give up Rogers’ identity. When Roger gets an informant willing to talk in exchange for immunity, Ed refuses to grant immunity to the informant.
Body of lies movie review how to#
They are having a tough time getting any where near their target, because no one is willing to talk. Action: The Scott Brothers How To Get Screwed By Spielberg Twice W/ Ridley Scott The most impressive aspect of this movie is not the horrible treatment the CIA gives to the Middle East or the great performance from DiCaprio, but rather the fact that for the first time in his entire filmography within this new millennium, Mark Strong appears with hair on screen. Roger Ferris (DiCaprio) and his boss Ed Hoffman (Crowe) both work for the CIA, their current assignment is to track down a terrorist named “Al-Saleem”. Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens (2015)īody of Lies – Trust no one.The King of Kong – A Fistful of Quarters (2007).Austin Powers 2: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999).Austin Powers 1: International Man of Mystery (1997).A Million Ways To Die In The West (2014).The Dark Knight Returns Pts 1+2 (2012 + 2013).The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013).The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002).The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013).The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014).The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012).The Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006).Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011).Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (2011).Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014).Captain America: The First Avenger (2011).There are some moderately interesting action sequences, but without any intellectual or emotional capital to draw upon, even the shoot-outs and explosions come dangerously close to tedium.īody Of Lies is more of a skeleton, with the bones of what would have been good ideas left to rattle in the empty box of lazy execution.Search C.C. And the artificially appended romance between Ferris and an Iranian doctor in Amman produces nothing but cringes. Crowe is distracted enough to almost bring the movie to a standstill every time he's on the screen. DiCaprio tries but resoundingly fails to recreate the impact of his role in Blood Diamond, as an outsider more at home in a foreign land. This may be a true reflection of progress in the Middle East, but it wasn't the intention of this movie to artistically fall flat on its face.īody Of Lies is a graphic metaphor for America's foreign policy being out of its depth in the world's most dangerous neighbourhood, but it lacks any sort of emotional connection, captivating drama, or genuine personal involvement.
Between Hoffman's meddling, Salaam's conniving, the terrorists' plotting, and Ferris' muddling, all the plans interfere with each other and not much of anything gets achieved by anyone. Ferris gets a handle on a terrorist safe house in Amman, and connects with Hani Salaam (Mark Strong), the head of Jordanian Intelligence. Ed Hoffman (Crowe) is Ferris' handler, based in DC, less clever than he thinks he is and preoccupied with shuttling his kids to their suburban activities while trying to capture terrorists by long distance. DiCaprio is CIA field agent Roger Ferris, hunting terrorists on the streets of the Middle East, assisted by locals with dubious sympathies.