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 Body of Lies 

What grade would you give this film?
A 13%  13%  [ 2 ]
B 56%  56%  [ 9 ]
C 25%  25%  [ 4 ]
D 6%  6%  [ 1 ]
F 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
Total votes : 16

 Body of Lies 
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Post Body of Lies
Body of Lies

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Body of Lies is a 2008 American spy film directed by Ridley Scott. Set in the Middle East, it follows the attempts of the CIA and Jordanian Intelligence to catch al-Saleem, a fictional jihadist terrorist. Frustrated by their target's elusiveness, differences in their approaches strain relations between a CIA operative, his superior and the head of Jordanian Intelligence. The CIA orchestrate a staged bombing in Turkey, making it seem to be the work of a previously unknown terrorist, betting that al-Saleem's pride will encourage him to make contact with those responsible.

William Monahan's screenplay, based on the novel of the same name by David Ignatius, examines contemporary tension between Western and Arab societies and looks at the comparative effectiveness of technological and human counter-intelligence methods. The film was shot primarily on location in the United States and Morocco, after authorities in Dubai refused permission to film there due to the script's political themes. The film's photography sought to emphasize the contrast between the gold & dust of the desert and Arab cities, and the blue & gray of bureaucracy and Washington. Accordingly they used practical light wherever possible. Marc Streitenfeld arranged the musical score.

Scott's direction and visual style were praised by critics, but they criticized his formulaic handling of the story and use of conventions from the spy genre, such as surveillance shots from high altitude spy planes. The performances by Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe and Mark Strong as the three principals, were particularly mentioned, including DiCaprio's involvement with his character, Crowe's put-on accent and weight and Strong's urbane sophistication.

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Fri Oct 10, 2008 4:41 am
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Grill
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Post Re: Body of Lies
It just wasn't good. The plot blew. Crowe was bad. All the supporting characters sucked. Leo's acting was the only good part but he had terrible character development.

It was like I sat through a worse version of Traitor.

5.5 or 6/10

Really disappointed

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Sat Oct 11, 2008 1:19 am
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Post Re: Body of Lies
A solid espionage thriller, but it doesn't really set itself apart from the others, which is disappointing considering the names involved. It's about on-par with films like Traitor and The Kingdom.

Russell Crowe sucked. DiCaprio was great.

**½


Sat Oct 11, 2008 3:05 am
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Another You
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Post Re: Body of Lies
It was entertaining enough for me to sit through the rest of it however, I thought it had the simiLar weaknesses AG had (too much taLk, icky pacing and a bit of the 'WTF is going on' feeL to it). I mean, you can aLways have a compLex pLot and stiLL generate interest but that didn't work for me in this movie. And this had a LittLe to make up for those weaknesses unLike AG. Leo's performance was good, but Crowe's roLe was incredibLy shitty, Like he didn't do anything, so-you-got-paid-for-that-roLe?! shitty.

C+


Sat Oct 11, 2008 8:32 am
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Post Re: Body of Lies
I keep telling people Crowe sucks. Nobody believes me.

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Sat Oct 11, 2008 12:51 pm
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Post Re: Body of Lies
Chip [Bot] wrote:
I keep telling people Crowe sucks. Nobody believes me.


For a good reason.


Sat Oct 11, 2008 3:06 pm
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Post Re: Body of Lies
Riggs wrote:
Chip [Bot] wrote:
I keep telling people Crowe sucks. Nobody believes me.


For a good reason.


x2..

Anyway I was quite satisfied with the movie although it is by no means perfect.

Solid B/B+ from me.


Sat Oct 11, 2008 6:38 pm
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Post Re: Body of Lies
Its not great but isn't terrible either. I enjoyed the first half more than the second. I liked how it started out unsure of the course it wanted to take. It was walking the line between condoning/condemning the way the US is conducting itself in the middle east uncertain of which way to side. It piqued my interest and made me want to see which side it would pick. But Scott can't stay away form the formulaic and about half way in switched gears. Turning what was a promising story into your standard paint by numbers action/drama. I'll give Scott credit as he does formulaic action dramas better than most and he can stage some cool action set pieces. The saving grace of the film was Mark Strong playing Hani. He really took over the second half making the film much more enjoyable than it should've been. DiCaprio was solid while Crowe was just trying to bait oscar and failing.

Grade B-

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Mon Oct 13, 2008 1:33 am
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Post Re: Body of Lies
I really enjoyed it. Well-directed, interesting, intense and featuring another fantastic performance from Leonardo DiCaprio. Crowe could have done better, but he was far from horrible. Given that I'm typically not the hugest fan of these politically-themed films, I was very pleasantly surprised. B+


Mon Oct 13, 2008 11:50 am
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Post Re: Body of Lies
Here's my latest...

http://nevadasagebrush.com/blog/2008/10/14/terrorist-thriller-film-far-from-explosive/

I'm starting to think I am just about as cynical as Mr. Pink! :ohmy:


Tue Oct 14, 2008 6:01 am
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Post Re: Body of Lies
This thing is just littered with problems. But Russell Crowe's solid supporting work is not one of them, even if it occasionally seems like he's doing Jeffrey Wigand again. I'm not sure what y'all saw there.

So, yeah, bad movie.

Leonardo DiCaprio needs to make a comedy.

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Wed Oct 15, 2008 12:28 am
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Post Re: Body of Lies
It was a good movie, but I still found myself disappointed with it. It's an intelligent and layered thriller, but I expected something of a higher quality with the talent involved. DiCaprio is good in his role even though his character is never really developed. Crowe, on the other hand, is wasted in a role that I feel many other actors could have easily pulled off. The highlight in the cast is Mark Strong, who does a very good job as DiCaprio's boss in Jordan. The script moves fast, and at times, feels a bit tough to follow because of all the directions it goes in. But to the credit of screenwriter William Monahan (adapting the David Ignatius novel of the same name) and director Ridley Scott, I stayed interested (even if I felt just a little lost) and found some of the scenes to be particularly gripping. I would have liked to see more depth in the characters and an ending that didn't feel quite as rushed, but on the whole, it's an intelligent and effective thriller that is worth checking out- even if it's not up to par with the recent offerings of its A-list talent. B

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Wed Oct 15, 2008 1:21 am
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Post Re: Body of Lies
Very solid, but I expected more. The actors aren't to blame. Leonardo DiCaprio gives an energetic and convincing performance and Russell Crowe steals his scenes. Both were obviously very dedicated to their roles. Ridley Scott should also not be blamed. The action sequences are tight and exciting and the atmospheres of the various locations are conveyed well. So who is this to blame for Body of Lies just being very good instead of a masterpiece (which it had the potential to be)? Much to my surprise, it's a pair of very talented screenwriters: William Monahan (The Departed), who is credited, and Steven Zaillian (Schindler's List), who I read provided uncredited revisions. Beyond the paranoid post-9/11, Syriana-flavored exterior, there's not much going on here. The plot's complicated, but not especially intelligent. A subtitle switch here, a villain name cange there, and you could easily turn this into a generic Reagan-era actioner with Harrison Ford or Kevin Costner fighting Russians. I wanted more depth, I wanted it to be more political and angry.

Still, it's easy to recommend. It's well-acted (very), stylish, and exciting.

A-

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Sun Oct 19, 2008 3:57 pm
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Post Re: Body of Lies
Just another typical/generic Hollywood-made thriller, indifferent from what we've seen before. Yet, it's undeniably a well-made, well-acted and well-directed film.

And to be honest, as someone who found the subject to be a very sensitive one (see my location), I felt uncomfortable to watch a film dealing with such an issue and being just 'another entertainment'. And as solid as it is being 'an entertaining thriller', it could and should be more 'thought-provoking'.

Of course, that's me to blame.

B

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Fri Oct 31, 2008 11:32 pm
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Post Re: Body of Lies
Insipid movie, definitely. I actually don't blame neither DiCaprio/Crowe as they were adequate to their roles (and it was nice to see a more... intentionally goofy side of Crowe?). I blame the narrative structure, which while coherent it's just repetitive and unoriginal.

I wouldn't call it a bad movie. Just one I don't care much, which is a shame, since I dig Ridley Scott - I mean, he directed at least two of my favorite movies ever, plus Thelma and Louise and Hannibal. He's just... out of shape these days, I guess. :|

**

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Wed Nov 12, 2008 11:25 am
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Post Re: Body of Lies
6/10 -> C

Leo and Russell were good in their roles, but the plot totally collapses in the second half of the movie. It gets boring and predictable. And also this movie features more unnecesary camera shaking than works like Cloverfield. I almost got sick at one scene in the beginning.


Mon Nov 24, 2008 4:46 am
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Post Re: Body of Lies
It was a good, solid film but after last year's American Gangster, I expected better from Scott.


B

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Wed Nov 26, 2008 12:02 am
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C+


That was one unnecessarily overlong movie! I've got the book it is based on at home and will read it to compare it to the film. It might work better on paper than it does on celluloid. Body of Lies isn't a bad film, but it's just a movie with not much of a message to tell that yet needs over two hours to tell its rather simple story. In a way it reminded me of Syriana, but that one at least some superb storylines (along with some bad ones). Body of Lies shifted to about 15 different locations throughout the film (it's like the best-of - or worst-of? - of Middle East travellogue). It's not as much of a Ridley Scott Oscar bait as American Gangster was, but it's also not as good of a movie. It didn't seem to have much of a point and didn't have anything original or profound to tell. This is a movie that was just there and for that 2+ hours of running time is a tad too long.

On the positive side of things - Leonardo DiCaprio delivers another great performance here. It's not on the same level as in The Departed or The Aviator, but more akin to his turn in Blood Diamond. He has fully matured as an actor by now and his character of Ferris was the only one I cared for really. Russell Crowe isn't given much to do here, but I liked his scenes together with DiCaprio and he has some good dialogue given. I liked the aspect of showing him in his mundane life while going about his high-profile job, but I think they have overdone it. After the fifth scene with him and his kids I was just thinking: "Yes, I got it. He's just an average American guy doing his job. Now can we move on with the actual storyline please?"). Crowe has certainly delivered better turns in Ridley Scott-directed films in the past. The only other performance that stuck out to me in this film was Mark Strong as Hani. It's quite amazing that an actor of Italian/Austrian descent who grew up in London managed to pull off the role of the chief of Jordanian intelligence as well as he did, but he fully convinced me. His loyalty, yet ruthlessness are conveyed very well and he had more charisma than anyone else in this film. Definitely a very overlooked performance.

The direction of the movie is rather bland (I usually enjoy Ridley Scott's style) and I thought that it changed too many locations whereas it didn't really advance the main plotline very much. The romance between Ferris and Aisha was undercooked and unconvincing and the main villain was right out of the Your-Stereotypical-Arab-Villain-book. For the long running time it had, there's just too little tension to keep the interest up. It starts off pretty well with Ferris' introduction, but then gets lost in all the satellite surveillance, the planned and failed operations and the romance. The tension then picks up again during the final 15-20 minutes, but for some reason you know that Ferris will make it out alive which somewhat reduces the tension. I did like the "twist" Hani pulled at the end.

Overall, I was left with an acceptable spy flick that did not stand out in almost any of the aspects. There's nothing really bad I can point out about it, but the whole affair feels bland, unnecessary and only Mark Strong and Leonardo DiCaprio leave memorable impressions.

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Sat Jan 03, 2009 9:45 pm
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Post Re: Body of Lies
Body of Lies turned out to be a reasonable excuse of a thriller thanks to the always watchable Leo.


4 out of 5.


Wed Mar 20, 2013 7:23 am
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Post Re: Body of Lies
A good thriller. I actually remember enjoying it quite a bit. But it's not memorable. Crowe and DiCaprio are great.

B

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Wed Mar 20, 2013 7:02 pm
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Post Re: Body of Lies
I'm going to have to walk back the "DiCaprio is great" part of my above review. I mean, he's not bad, but he's not right for this film. I just watched it again and there was a problem. It was him. He's providing his usual intensity, but he's too boyish, too thin, too weak-legged to be taken seriously as a CIA operative. Adding facial hair isn't enough to convince me he's an experienced adult member of American intelligence. Crowe is excellent, though. A faithful servant to Scott's best films.

Another thing that doesn't work in the film's favour anymore is that since 2008 Oscar Isaac and Mark Strong have become names in their own right, so watching them in these Arab roles is less believable. Now it's just "oh hey look, there's that British actor Mark Strong putting on an accent", lol, whereas before seeing him as the head of intelligence for the Kingdom of Jordan felt more real and threatening and authoritative.

Annabelle Wallis has a super small blink-and-you'll-miss-it role as Mark Strong's date, which caught my eye right at the end of the credits.

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