Movie Review - Body of Lies

Genre: Action Thriller, Drama

Director: Ridley Scott

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Golshifteh Farahani, Vince Colosimo

Running Time: 128 minutes (plus trailers)

Body of Lies is not a good movie. If I was writing a review containing only one sentence, that is what it would be. Luckily, I can write a review that’s much longer than one sentence, so I am also able to include words such as predictable, melodramatic and dull. The basic story is as follows: The Western world is under attack from terrorist mastermind Al Salim, and the US Government, despite all their fancy technology, is unable to apprehend him. So instead, CIA agent Roger Ferris (DiCaprio) and his handler Ed Hoffman (Crowe) decide to invent their own terrorist mastermind, and use him as bait to capture Salim. The story sounds pretty good. It’s not.

The film is over two hours long, but at least thirty minutes could have been cut, especially from the dreary and irrelevant first act. Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio are both excellent actors who do mediocre jobs with the clichéd characters they play. Anyone who has ever seen an action thriller film before can predict every turn the story takes, from the unbelievable romantic sub-plot to the supposedly climatic hostage situation. But worst of all, the movie tries to be meaningful. Instead of simply resigning itself to the standard but entertaining action genre, it attempts to address weighty themes of surveillance, terrorism and America’s relationship with the Middle East, but is so heavy handed and obvious that on top of failing as an action film; it is also fails to be a credible drama. Ultimately, the ideas the film puts forward are far better explored in other movies such as The Kingdom or Enemy of the State (not to mention that one episode of South Park where Hilary Clinton has a nuclear bomb hidden…on her person.)

Around the half way point, the movie does pick up a little, but this is only because it becomes more about action and tension, and less about the message. The movie isn’t completely horrible; Ridley Scott (whose best films include Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator and Black Hawk Down) does a good job of directing, and the film has enough explosions and a few tense moments to maybe…maybe make it worth renting. But I stand by what I said. Body of Lies is not a good movie.

3/10