When both are of equal strength the result is Gladiator, when the scales are tipped in one director the product is this sleek-looking but monotonous mess. Ridley Scott is such a visual technician that his style often overwhelms the story.
#Body of lies movie review new york times movie
In honesty that could be said for the entire script. the movie lacks the depth and sweep of a film like Syriana and the muted playing of DiCaprio and Crowe. It is a weak subplot that it hits all the clichés on its way to the predictable outcome. Mixed into this jumbled tale of covert warfare is an awkward romance between Ferris and a Iranian nurse. The two nation’s shared goal is the capture of notorious terrorist leader “al-Saleem”. Eve Duncan, the signature character of 1 New York Times bestselling. Hoffman sends Ferris to Jordan to work alongside the head of their intelligence department. Read 416 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. After losing their best informant in a botched assignment. Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Strong and to a lesser degree Russel Crowe deserve pats on the back too, as their outstanding portrayals in Body of Lies really bring the David Ignatius novel to life. Back on the domestic front the operation is being led by Ed Hoffman (Crowe), the man Ferris believes is deceptive in sharing his intel on ground ops. For this he should be applauded as it is much harder to do than it sounds. Based on Washington Post columnist David Ignatius’ 2007 novel about a CIA operative, Roger. Synopsis: A former journalist injured in the Iraq war is hired by the CIA to track down an Al Qaeda leader in Jordan. After a string of terrorist attacks on allied nations, Ferris is actively pursuing informants to bring down a cell of bad guys. Body of Lies is a film directed by Ridley Scott with Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Mark Strong, Michael Gaston. These two have an odd father-son relationship/rivalry although neither is related to the other.ĭiCaprio is Roger Ferris, a CIA field operation agent located in some of the most hellish environments on earth. Lost in this sea of jumbled narrative storytelling are two outstanding performances from the always reliable DiCaprio and the more spotty Crowe. Unlike his brother Tony, who succeed in this genre with the excellent Spy Games, Ridley lets the story start and stop then start again so frequently that the film becomes solely an exercise in visual technique and acting. Gritty action, topical story, Body of Lies is entertaining fare.Ridley Scott’s continuing fascinating with military operations results in the mediocre spy-thriller Body of Lies. But its hero is a lone ranger who operates in three countries, single-handedly creates a fictitious terrorist organization, and survives explosions, gunfights. The film wants to be persuasive in its expertise about modern spycraft, terrorism, the CIA and Middle East politics. But before he can do that, he must get riddled with bullets, run for his life, get bitten by diseased dogs and fall in love with a Palestinian nurse.Ĭlash of cultures, did we say? Nah! This nice American can not only speak Arabic, quote the Hadith, he also likes to sip tea with his Palestinian girlfriend in hostile territory. Body of Lies is a James Bond plot inserted into today's headlines. He tries to set up a parallel terrorist network to draw out the real anarchists from their lair. I could be looking forward to kofta and end up. It could be Israeli or Syrian or Turkish or Egyptian. This CIA agent is hot on the heels of Qaeda mastermind, Al-Saleem and devices a novel plan to nab the terrorist, after all measures to infiltrate the gang fail. 'When I walk into a Mediterranean restaurant, it’s hard to know what kind of food to expect. Or for current releases, scroll down for the One Minute Movie Critic, with short reviews and star ratings for new movies you can see now. While Crowe is the strategist, based in Washington DC, sending instructions on a cellphone, while taking his kids for basketball, DeCaprio is the action hero who enters the battlefield in the infamous axis of evil. Now, that's not just so bad, specially when you have Leornado DiCaprio and Russell Crowe planning special operations to nab the Al Qaeda jihadis. Guess, it will be a long wait before baddies like Dr No and Mogambo hit the screens again. FBI investigating Russian hack of New York Times. TERRORIST fatigue, anyone? With almost every film taking on the terrorist these days, the viewers seem to wishing for the good old villains of yore. On Sundays, the Times is supplemented by the Sunday Review (formerly the Week in Review),16 The New.