Eye Candy #136 - "Body of Lies"

Body of Lies: A contemporary thriller about the political machinations of various groups in the Middle East, in the name of “War on Terror”. Leonardo DiCaprio is Roger Ferris, a CIA operator in Iraq and Jordan, tracking a terrorist named Al-Saleem. His handler, Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe), is committed to fighting terrorists bullet for bullet and man for man, and no one isn’t expendable, including Ferris. To Hoffman, the war is a chess game, best viewed from 5,000 feet up through the lens of a remote-controlled predator aircraft, and America can‘t afford to lose. To that end, Ferris finds himself in bed with the Jordanian internal security service as well as various intrigues, to the point where you don’t know who is manipulating who to get what they want, whether they are American or otherwise. It’s nice to watch a thriller that actually has some vitality to it, and that clips along at a good pace DiCaprio is good, though he’ll always sound like a teenager to me. Crowe’s part, contrary to the various previews, isn’t really that large (maybe 15 minutes total screen time). Mark Strong is solid in support as Hani, the Jordanian attache that Ferris works with. Director Ridley Scott may be the most dependable director on the market today, he rarely turns in a disappointing picture. And “Body of Lies“ is good (solid 3 ½ stars). I had serious reservations about it, but was pleasantly surprised. Would make a good double bill with “Syriana“. Woodchuck sez, “Check it out.”