body of lies movie review

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If you take a step back from the realistic locations and terse dialogue, Ridley Scott's "Body of Lies" is a James Bond plot inserted into today's headlines. The film wants to be persuasive in its expertise about modern spycraft, terrorism, the CIA and Middle East politics. But its hero is a lone ranger who operates in three countries, single-handedly creates a fictitious terrorist organization, and survives explosions, gunfights, and brutal torture. Oh, and he falls in love with a local beauty. And of course he speaks Arabic well enough to pass for a local.

This is Roger Ferris ( Leonardo DiCaprio ), who seems to operate as a self-directed freelance in the war against a deadly terrorist organization (obviously a double for al-Qaeda). His brainstorm is to fabricate a rival terrorist organization out of thin air, fabricate a fictitious leader, create a convincing evidence trail and use it to smoke out Al Saleem, the secretive leader of the real terrorists (a surrogate for Osama bin Laden). Why will Al Saleem risk everything to come out of hiding? Jealousy, I think. Guarding his turf.

I can imagine a similar story as told by John Le Carre , even right down to the local beauty. Some of the characters seem worthy of Le Carre, especially Hoffman ( Russell Crowe ), Ferris' CIA handler, and Hani Salaam ( Mark Strong ), the brilliant and urbane head of Jordanian security. But Le Carre would never be guilty of such preposterous thriller-style action. Here we have a spy who doesn't come in from the cold, crossed with Jason Bourne.

The most intriguing aspect of Ferris' activities is his growing disillusionment with them. He feels one local comrade has been abandoned to face a certain death, and after he sets up an innocent architect to unwittingly play the head of the fictitious terrorist agency, he single-handedly tries to save his life from an inevitable attack. That Ferris survives this man's fate is highly unlikely. And it leads to a situation where his own life is saved by the last-second arrival of the cavalry.

The movie depends on two electronic wonderments. One is the ability of Ferris to maintain instant, effortless, cell phone contact with Hoffman, back in Washington. Wearing one of those ear-mounted devices, he seems to keep up a running conversation with his boss, even during perilous situations (his boss is often distracted by taking care of his kids).

The other wonderment is aerial surveillance so precise it can see a particular man walking down a street. The surveillance POV is so stable, it's hard to believe it originates from a fast-moving high-altitude spy plane. In discussing Ridley Scott's superior " Black Hawk Down " (2002), I questioned the infrared technology that allowed distant commanders to monitor troop movements on the ground. Many readers informed me that was based on fact. Perhaps the astonishing images in "Body of Lies" are accurate; if so, it's only another step to locating bin Laden with an aerial eyeball scan.

Ferris' romance in Aaman involves a pretty nurse named Aisha ( Golshifteh Farahani ), who cares for him after he nearly dies in a blast. (One nice touch: A surgeon removes something from his arm and explains: "Bone fragment. Not yours.") The movie is realistic in showing a Muslim woman's difficulties in dating a Westerner; spying eyes are everywhere. It is less realistic in establishing why they are willing to take such a risk, since they're allowed no meaningful conversations to create their relationship. Aisha obviously exists as a convenience of the plot and to set up the film's overwhelmingly unlikely conclusion.

The acting is convincing. DiCaprio makes Ferris almost believable in the midst of absurdities; the screenplay by William Monahan , based on the novel by David Ignatius , portrays him as a man who grows to reject the Iraq war and the role of the CIA in it. Crowe, who gained 50 pounds for his part (always dangerous for a beer drinker), is a remorselessly logical CIA operative. I particularly admired the work of Mark Strong as the suave Jordanian intelligence chief, who likes little cigars, shady nightclubs and pretty women, but is absolutely in command of his job.

The bottom line: "Body of Lies" contains enough you can believe, or almost believe, that you wish so much of it weren't sensationally implausible. No one man can withstand such physical ordeals as Ferris undergoes in this film, and I didn't even mention the attack by a pack of possibly rabid dogs. Increasing numbers of thrillers seem to center on heroes who are masochists surrounded by sadists, and I'm growing weary of the horror! Oh, the horror!

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Film credits.

Body of Lies (2008)

Rated R strong violence including some torture and for language throughout

128 minutes

Leonardo DiCaprio as Roger Ferris

Russell Crowe as Ed Hoffman

Mark Strong as Hani

Golshifteh Farahani as Aisha

Oscar Isaac as Bassam

Simon McBurney as Garland

Directed by

Ridley Scott
William Monahan

Based on the novel by

David Ignatius

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Body of Lies Reviews

Asking bold questions about the consequences of retaliation and its slippery slope, the film neither preaches about nor ignores the current geopolitical nightmare yet manages to be incredibly entertaining.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 4, 2024

Avoids making moral judgments or taking sides, preferring to allow the audience to come to their own conclusions.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jan 31, 2021

Nail-biting suspense at every turn.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Nov 28, 2020

Scott is great, as usual, at flashy pyrotechnics, but action fans will probably lose patience with all the tangled plotting.

Full Review | Nov 15, 2020

Rises above the mediocrity of its storyline thanks largely to its ensemble cast.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.0/4.0 | Sep 3, 2020

Body of Lies, on the whole, is a retrograde fantasy. Its characters are unconvincing inventions.

Full Review | Sep 2, 2020

Body of Lies is a well-made film, but lacks the emotional impact required to keep its audience interested.

Full Review | Original Score: C+ | Oct 15, 2019

The action sequences lack pizzazz and feel decidedly old-hat for Scott.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jun 6, 2019

A revealing, original and extremely dramatic film... [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 16, 2018

It's James Bond via today's headlines, which should, I suppose, at least make it feel very now, but it doesn't. There is nothing in this you haven't seen before, and oodles that you have.

Full Review | Jan 30, 2018

The film's veracity is undermined by its compulsive use of glib soundbites. Not to mention an over-wound plot that begs disbelief.

Full Review | Dec 27, 2017

Quite frankly, it was a waste of two talented actors.

Full Review | Original Score: C | Sep 12, 2017

Director Ridley Scott makes Body of Lies a visually stylish film that also has scenes of incredible carnage and wince-inducing torture.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Aug 17, 2017

A compelling, nail-biting spy thriller.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Jan 16, 2013

Full Review | Original Score: B- | Feb 18, 2012

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 17, 2011

It has none of the sweep of, say, Syriana, as if that mattered to the audience it's gunning for.

Full Review | Aug 15, 2011

Full Review | Original Score: A- | May 6, 2011

Russell Crowe has finally realised he's just an ordinary fat guy now, and taken a role he can accurately portray.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 24, 2011

Body of Lies is an extremely well paced, tightly wound, and intensely violent thriller. There is no damnation or congratulations here. As Russell Crowe muses as the end: "No one is innocent"

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jul 7, 2010

International edition
Australia edition
Europe edition
Body of Lies

B ased on a novel by Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, Ridley Scott's latest is one of those espionage thrillers that skips around the world with captions flashed up to tell us we're in 'Manchester, England' (spectacular explosion at a terrorist bomb factory), 'Amsterdam, Holland' (spectacular explosion in crowded market), 'Langley, Virginia' (base of Ed Hoffman, controller of the CIA's Middle East activities) and, 'Samara, Iraq', 'Amman, Jordan' and 'Dubai, Persian Gulf' (the three principal places Hoffman's chief agent, Roger Ferris, flits between).

Hoffman (Russell Crowe in a bristling grey hairpiece that looks better acquainted with Harpic than hair oil) is a patriot from the Deep South, a ruthless, xenophobic bully who works from his cell phone as he drives the kids to school. Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio) is an ace field operative, whose fluent Arabic and bushy beard enable him to pass as a native. As handy with a gun as with a brilliant strategy, he's a glutton for punishment and sympathetic to the Middle Eastern culture.

Together, they conceive a plan to flush out a Western-educated al-Qaeda boss by creating a fictitious rival group. In the process, they implicate an innocent Jordanian architect and threaten the life of a beautiful Iranian nurse who tends Ferris for possible rabies after he's been bitten by a mad dog in Amman. It's a slick, shallow, simplistic movie that shrinks in the shadow of De Niro's CIA epic The Good Shepherd and contributes nothing to our understanding of an important subject.

The film's redeeming feature is the performance by Mark Strong as Hani Pasha, head of the Jordanian Intelligence Directorate. A man of honour, with perfect manners, impeccable taste in tailoring and an understanding of world politics, he's a countervailing moral and intellectual force to the crudity of Hoffman and the sentimental naivety of Ferris.

The Observer
Mark Strong

The Movie Review: 'Body of Lies'

Three years ago, Ridley Scott's ill-conceived epic Kingdom of Heaven implicitly asked the question, "What would a movie about the Crusades look like if everyone in it had a 21st-century ideological outlook?" (The unsurprising answer: It would look nothing at all like the Crusades.) With Body of Lies , Scott once again turns his eye to conflict in the Middle East, though this time he wisely keeps his moral and historical frames in present-day alignment. The result is a film that, while far less muddled, still doesn't have much new to say.

Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a CIA field operative; Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe) is the stateside handler with whom he is in frequent disagreement. Ferris is a jaded humanist who likes the Middle East and believes America's best hopes for defeating terrorism lie in open cooperation with our allies in the region. Hoffman is a callous cynic who declares, "Ain't nobody likes the Middle East" and "I don't have time for cultural sensitivity issues." I'll leave it to you to guess which is the good guy.

Ferris and Hoffman are (of course) closing in on a terrorist mastermind who's behind a series of bombings in Europe and plans to bring his pyrotechnic show to the U.S. They (of course) make common cause with a regional law enforcement agent (Mark Strong), who may or may not really be on their side. And Ferris (of course) becomes involved with a pretty local lass (Golshifteh Farahani as an Iranian nurse), who becomes an unwitting pawn in his plots and counterplots. The movie jumps from London to Iraq to Washington to Amsterdam to Jordan, Dubai, Turkey, and Syria with box-checking diligence. There are betrayals and kidnappings and rogue operations and collateral damage. Things are not infrequently blown up. The elements of the film, in other words, will be reasonably familiar to anyone who saw Syriana or The Kingdom or Traitor or Spy Game .

There are some pleasant surprises along the way. The script, adapted by William Monaghan from a novel by Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, shrewdly sticks to shades of gray; those waiting for a stark double cross that will reveal the movie's true villain will wait in vain. DiCaprio and Crowe deliver their customary quality, even if neither shows us anything terribly fresh. (I, for one, look forward to the next role in which DiCaprio doesn't feel a scruffy goatee is needed to confirm his postpubescence.) But the movie's true revelation is Syriana vet Strong, who plays head of Jordanian intelligence Hani Salaam. Trim and elegant in narrow pinstripes, Salaam is crafty, charismatic, and sophisticated, with an odd but charming insistence on referring to male colleagues as "my dear." He is a man capable of brutality when it is required, but glad to avoid it when it is not. A scene in which he administers a carrot to an al Qaeda suspect in place of the anticipated stick is perhaps the best in the film.

Scott directs with characteristic panache--the rapid editing and varied camera speeds, a delight in aerial surveillance shots evidently inherited from brother Tony's Enemy of the State -- but as in Kingdom of Heaven his aesthetic and political purposes are in tension: How upset can we be about a deadly explosion when Scott has labored so mightily to make it look cool? Though evidently intended to straddle the divide between action thriller and geopolitical fable, when pushed, Body of Lies tumbles into the former genre. (Its chief bid at seriousness, a confrontational colloquy with the top terrorist near the end of the film, comes across as the awkward regurgitation of a hastily swallowed subscription to The Economist .) In the end, it is an above-average entertainment, though not a terribly memorable one. By contrast, a sequel following the exploits of spymaster Hani Salaam, the George Smiley of Jordan--now that , my dear, would be something to see.

This post originally appeared at TNR.com.

Cast & crew
User reviews

Metacritic reviews

Body of lies.

88 ReelViews James Berardinelli ReelViews James Berardinelli Body of Lies neither panders nor condescends. It involves current events and has a political viewpoint, but it overplays neither.
80 Village Voice Village Voice Its generic attributes (and title) notwithstanding, Scott's film may be the sharpest of all the post-9/11 thrillers--and also the most purely entertaining--in the way it maps the vectors and currents of the modern intelligence-gathering game without losing us in its dense narrative thicket.
75 Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert Body of Lies is a James Bond plot inserted into today's headlines. The film wants to be persuasive in its expertise about modern spycraft, terrorism, the CIA and Middle East politics. But its hero is a lone ranger who operates in three countries, single-handedly creates a fictitious terrorist organization, and survives explosions, gunfights, and brutal torture.
75 Rolling Stone Peter Travers Rolling Stone Peter Travers The result is commendably non-West-centric, but no less sentimentally conceived.
70 The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt It may not be as much fun as old spy movies starring Cary Grant or more recent entertainments such as "Spy Game," directed by Ridley's brother Tony, but it feels all too accurate.
70 The New Yorker David Denby The New Yorker David Denby The movie is smart and tightly drawn; it has a throat-gripping urgency and some serious insights, and Scott has a greater command of space and a more explicit way with violence than most thriller directors.
63 Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips The most interesting thing about this slick but frustrating picture is the way it puts Crowe’s Hoffman at the center of our mixed feelings.
60 New York Magazine (Vulture) David Edelstein New York Magazine (Vulture) David Edelstein The film has one indelible asset: Mark Strong, who plays the Jordanian spymaster Hani. He's sleek and lounge-lizard sharp like a young Andy Garcia, and he could be bigger than Garcia. The Jordanian holds all the cards, and opposite two superstars, Strong is the only actor who holds the camera.
50 Variety Todd McCarthy Variety Todd McCarthy A mostly formulaic approach that becomes more disappointing as the yarn unwinds.
33 Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman Most of this just seems, you know, so three years ago, so "Bourne" again.
See all 37 reviews on Metacritic.com
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Screen Rant

Body of lies review.

Body of Lies delivers excellent performances along with realistic action, suspense and drama.

My impression of Body of Lies based on the commercials and trailers was that it was going to be a taught, intense thriller - much more grounded in reality than your typical spy movie.

In that regard I was not disappointed, but while it was quite riveting - some aspects of the story did bug me. Some of it was based on my personal views, but some of it was not.

In Body of Lies , Leonardo DiCaprio plays Roger Ferris, a CIA covert operative whose background is never divulged. He works in the Middle East and ends up in Jordan searching for terrorists who have been bombing European civilian targets. In Jordan he uncovers information about Islamist radical leader Al-Saleem (Alon Aboutboul). Ferris devises a plan to infiltrate Al-Saleem's terrorist network with the help of his boss back in Washington D.C., Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe). Ferris takes over the local CIA office and engages the help of the Chief of Jordanian Intelligence, Hani Salaam (Mark Strong) on the operation.

Unfortunately Ferris not only doesn't know how far he can trust Salaam, but cannot trust Hoffman either - both of which could put his life in danger.

Ridley Scott gives us an excellent sense of what a close up view of the war on terrorism is like - not only from the point of view of government officials but more intimately, from the "men on the ground." Between his performance in Blood Diamond and this film, Leo DiCaprio has actually made the transition from bright-faced young man in Titanic to what I would call a "real man." Sure, they still seem to feel the need to put a beard on him to make him look older, but he surprises me with a screen presence that harkens back to old-school leading men.

Russel Crowe put on a bunch of weight for his performance and is excellent as usual. Besides DiCaprio, a big hero and focal point in the film is Mark Strong (who reminded me a hell of a lot of Andy Garcia) as the Jordanian Chief of Intelligence. He gives a powerful and convincing performance.

There is plenty of realistic action and suspense in the film and there isn't much of either the annoying "quick edit" or "camera shake" technique that is so popular in films lately. The movie sucks you in for the most part, but kind of loses you when it gets to the romance between DiCaprio and a local nurse. Their romance does serve to bring us into a world we are little familiar with, but for some reason it didn't quite gel for me with the rest of the film.

Another thing that bothered me was the portrayal of Hoffman. While obviously not an idiot, he was a stereotypical, easy to hate government official: Arrogant, fat, sloppy and with a Southern accent to make him even a tinge redneckish. He just cared about what was happening at the moment, and not willing to sacrifice an easy smaller win now for a much bigger payoff later.

On the other hand Salaam was handsome, self-assured, patient and honorable. I suppose at least they painted Ferris as an honorable American trying to get the job done despite all the pushback and double crosses coming from Hoffman.

Those nits however are not enough to detract from the excellence of the overall movie. I always find movie violence harder to take when it is in a more realistic setting (as opposed to some elaborate and unrealistic torture scene from the Saw series for example), so you might want to keep that in mind.

Body of Lies didn't do well on its opening weekend, having been beaten by the horror flick Quarantine and believe it or not, Beverly Hills Chihuahua on its second weekend. So yet again another movie that takes a quasi-realistic look at the war on terror does not do well at the box office.

With things going the way they are with election politics and the financial crisis, I guess as usual people want to go to the movies to escape the "real world" and not to watch something that reminds them of what they see every day on CNN.

But if you're looking for a great drama with its share of nail biting scenes, you're OK with a couple of pretty brutal scenes and want to see an excellent performance by Leonardo DiCaprio, Body of Lies is definitely worth checking out.

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Body of lies, common sense media reviewers.

Violent spy thriller is for adults only.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

The lead characters don't know who to trust -- eve

Agents whip a naked man in a torture cellar. Lot o

Some mild flirting; one mention of a man needing t

Frequent use of everything from "s--t" and "p---y"

Hood ornaments for Mercedes Benz; logos for Hewlet

Lots of social smoking and drinking.

Positive Messages

The lead characters don't know who to trust -- even among those who work at the same company they do. They kill others, including innocents, all in the name of getting ahead. Roger Ferris shows warmth toward a kind doctor, which triggers an epiphany of sorts.

Violence & Scariness

Agents whip a naked man in a torture cellar. Lot of explosions, most of which claim lives. Guns are drawn and shot; they're also pointed at people's heads. A man throws an object at a wall. Lots of double-crossing, some beatings, and much coercion. A character is shown using his bare hands to pick at bullet shrapnel lodged in his arm.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Some mild flirting; one mention of a man needing to "bang" his wife.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Frequent use of everything from "s--t" and "p---y" to "f--k."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Hood ornaments for Mercedes Benz; logos for Hewlett-Packard and BBC World News; bottles of Coke are prominently displayed in a few scenes.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this gripping-though-inconsistent spy/terrorism thriller is quite violent -- almost tenaciously so. There's torture, gunfights, and explosions, as well as a fair number of close-ups of bloody injuries and corpses. People are sacrificed regardless of their loyalties, or even their actual involvement in terror activities. There's also some smoking and drinking and plenty of swearing (including "f--k"), though no real sexual content of note. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

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Community Reviews

Parents say (1)
Kids say (7)

Based on 1 parent review

What's the Story?

Roger Ferris ( Leonardo DiCaprio ) is a hotshot CIA operative running shotgun on covert maneuvers in the Middle East. Edward Hoffman ( Russell Crowe ) is the paunchy, headstrong boss who has his back -- most of the time -- back in Langley, Virginia. Their mission is to stop the terrorists in their tracks and capture their fearsome leader, Al-Saleem (Alon Aboutboul). But they're foiled repeatedly ... until Ferris hatches a scheme to create a new, fictitious leader vying for prominence with Al-Saleem. It's a bloody plan aimed at trying the guilty, but it ends up sacrificing the innocent. Ferris isn't sure whether his allies -- including Jordanian intelligence -- are truly behind him, or whether his newfound friendship with an Iranian doctor (Golshifteh Farahani) will put everything, including himself, in jeopardy.

Is It Any Good?

The tension begins from the first moment and rarely lets up in Ridley Scott 's BODY OF LIES. The quick camera cuts and the rough, gritty terrain add to the pressure. All good to be sure. But couple that with the movie's nearly unrelenting violence (bombs exploding, machine guns firing, bodies bleeding) and you end up with a thriller that flirts dangerously with being overdone (this is not a film for anyone prone to migraines). Although it offers a fascinating (if labyrinthine) look at the intricacies of running covert operations, in the end, it focuses too much on serving up stylized fare when all we really long for is a good, old-fashioned spy movie. Or at least one that illuminates or adds depth to what we already know -- from the news and from other movies that have taken on the subject -- about the war on terror.

But Body of Lies does do one thing perfectly: give viewers a chance to see two fine actors go toe to toe. DiCaprio is intense, but his Titanic -like charms add much-needed levity when he comes a-courting at his beloved physician's home. And Crowe is arrogant but compelling in a role that has him dispensing murderous orders while at his child's soccer game buffet and swinging by school for a drop off.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the ongoing war on terror. How does this movie confirm or defy your expectations of what secret agents do? How accurate do you think it is? What messages is the movie trying to convey about espionage and terrorism? Do you think it has a particular agenda? What makes this different from other thrillers? Families can also discuss Ferris and Hoffman's relationship. How would you characterize it? Knowing all he's done, does Ferris ever get pangs of guilt? What does that say about his character?

Movie Details

In theaters : October 8, 2008
On DVD or streaming : February 17, 2009
Cast : Leonardo DiCaprio , Mark Strong , Russell Crowe
Director : Ridley Scott
Studio : Warner Bros.
Genre : Thriller
Run time : 123 minutes
MPAA rating : R
MPAA explanation : strong violence including some torture, and for language throughout
Last updated : August 30, 2023

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Review: Body of Lies (2008)

Body of lies (2008).

Directed by: Ridley Scott

Premise: A CIA field operative (Leonardo DiCaprio) works with Jordanian anti-terrorism officials to track down an Islamic extremist leader while trying to minimize the interference of his scheming supervisor (Russell Crowe).

What Works: Body of Lies has some great performances by Russell Crowe as a pushy and arrogant CIA boss who is willing to use and abuse any relationship in order to accomplish his goals and Mark Strong as the Chief of Jordanian Intelligence, a polished and charismatic man with ambiguous intentions. The whole movie is an elaborate game of chess with multiple players manipulating the figures and the story smartly places DiCaprio’s character between Crowe and Strong’s father figure types, forcing him to try and appease both men while completing his mission. The dialogue is sharp and actually includes a lot of the wry humor that screenwriter William Monahan does so well. As a political thriller, Body of Lies manages to navigate a lot of information and keep it organized and manageable for the audience while not watering it down and the film balances exposition and action very well.

What Doesn’t: The trouble with Body of Lies is its lack of a clear goal or at least a Mcguffin, and that creates a ripple effect that hinders the rest of the picture. The film starts by introducing the lead villain, who the heroes need to defeat, but then that villain disappears for most of the film, only reappearing in the end. Most of the middle of the picture is spent on red herrings that don’t really lead anywhere. The absence of a coherent endgame comes to hurt the conclusion, which does not really resolve any of the issues that the characters have faced. Body of Lies is also troubled by a dependence on convention. The story follows the general template of a spy thriller and rarely deviates from it. This makes the story predictable and keeps Body of Lies from breaking any new ground in the genre or making any profound statements about its subject matter.

Bottom Line: Body of Lies is not a bad film but it’s also not that exceptional. The acting and the characters are great, especially Crowe and Strong, and it adds a lot of sly humor to the subject but in the end the film is just a little under whelming.

Episode: #209 (October 19, 2008)

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DVD & Streaming

Body of Lies

Action/Adventure , Drama , Mystery/Suspense , War

Content Caution

In Theaters

Leonardo DiCaprio as Roger Ferris; Russell Crowe as Ed Hoffman; Mark Strong as Hani; Golshifteh Farahani as Aisha

Home Release Date

Ridley Scott

Distributor

Warner Bros.

Movie Review

Roger Ferris is a big ol’ fibber.

He is, after all, a spy, and Body of Lies would be a far different—and far shorter—film if Roger introduced himself to potential terrorists by saying, “Hi, I’m Roger, and I’m a CIA agent. Can you take me to your weapons cache, please?”

But Roger, even in the world of counterintelligence, seems to lie more than your average spy. He lies to his informants, to his partners and to his girlfriend. But then again, most everyone lies to him, too, so he’s game to call it even.

It’s for a good cause, he tells himself. In the War on Terror, Roger’s a true-blue crusader, willing to tell any number of lies to uncover the truth—assuming, of course, he can tell the difference. Currently he’s chasing an Osama bin Laden-style bad cat named Al-Saleem through the Middle East. Al-Saleem is an erudite terrorist mastermind who tells his followers, via DVD, that it’s time to go on a terrorist offensive: “We have bled,” he says in the video. “Now they will bleed and bleed until they are bled out.”

Al-Saleem, it seems, is one of the few folks in the movie who means what he says.

Roger comes by this bit of information through a one-time terrorist who decides he’d rather switch sides than become a martyr for Allah. Then Roger phones his D.C.-based boss, Ed Hoffman, for further instructions. Ed tells Roger the guy’s expendable: Drop him off and see who follows him.

“I just offered him asylum,” Roger says.

“Well, you lied, buddy,” Ed says.

Ed calls Roger “buddy” a lot. Naturally, he’s lying. But Ed’s not just a pro at dishonesty, he’s also incredibly adept at making poor decisions, most of which lead to dead bodies, compromised missions and deeply embarrassing moments for Roger.

Ed is the intelligence community’s version of Dilbert’s pointy-haired boss. Hani, on the other hand, is the suave, well-tailored head of Jordanian intelligence. And he is Ed’s antithesis. While Ed hovers above the action, watching events via big-screen satellite images from a nice comfy office chair, Hani’s the guy on the ground—far more knowledgeable about what’ll work and what won’t. When Roger asks for help on a mission, Hani gravely insists that Roger be completely truthful with him when they’re working together. Roger solemnly promises he will.

He won’t.

Positive Elements

Roger meets a cute female doctor named Aisha and treats her with respect, courtesy and affection. And when he thinks Aisha’s in peril, he goes to fanatical lengths to rescue her.

Despite some of his methods (read: lying), it seems to me that it’s still a positive thing for Roger to dedicate so much of his life to combating terrorism. He certainly clocks more than the typical 40-hour workweek while tracking down nefarious evildoers. Roger also feels genuinely bad when one of his partners is blown to smithereens.

Hani’s methods of “persuasion” are far more genteel than either Roger’s or Ed’s. He doesn’t believe in torture, telling Roger that, “Under torture, a man will say almost anything to make the pain stop.”

Spiritual Elements

Body of Lies deals frankly with Islamic terrorism’s spiritual underpinnings, as well as the wider Muslim culture that surrounds it. Al-Saleem talks in religious language to his followers, and Roger and a terrorist engage in a back-and-forth debate as to whether killing people is lauded or condemned in the Quran. “So you misinterpret the one book you believe in,” Roger says.

We hear the good guys and bad guys say, “God is good” and make other religious statements. When one supposed terrorist apparently strikes a U.S. base in Turkey, dozens of terrorists e-mail him with congratulations—most of which say how he is blessed by God, and how much God will bless him for this great deed. Ed tells his supervisors that Islamic militants want “every infidel converted or dead.”

Sexual Content

Most of the action takes place in Jordan, where women are allowed greater freedom than in, say, Saudi Arabia or Iran. Aisha’s hair is visible for most of the film, and she and Roger are allowed to walk along the streets of Amman without being accosted. That said, their budding relationship is clearly frowned upon. Several men glower at the couple as they drink coffee at a local restaurant.

Islamic propriety prevents the two from even shaking hands after they share lunch. The only time the couple actually touches is when Aisha gives Roger a couple of rabies shots at the local clinic.

We learn that Roger is getting divorced from his stateside wife. Ed, however, asks whether he’d like a few weeks off so he can have sex with her. One woman wears an evening dress with a dipping neckline. Several times a crass word is used for a critical part of the female anatomy.

Violent Content

Shortly after they meet, Hani leads Roger to a room where a naked man is being lashed across the buttocks. Roger comments that he didn’t think Hani believed in torture.

“This is punishment, my dear,” Hani says. “It’s a very different thing.”

It’s somehow appropriate, then, how this movie punishes its audience with some horrific sights. The worst of it takes place at the very end, when a terrorist takes a ball-peen hammer to an enemy’s fingers and smashes one of them clean off. Once that damage is done, terrorists untie the man, beat him viciously (part of his lip appears to be cut through) and prepare to gut him on a table.

Roger gets into a desert chase/firefight with SUV-driving baddies—a chase finally terminated by U.S. attack helicopters. Both of the terrorist SUVs are destroyed, as is Roger’s vehicle. The blast kills Roger’s partner and seriously wounds the spy himself. In the hospital, Roger regains consciousness and hears a doctor utter a profanity—seemingly upset that Roger will recover. Later, we see a doctor grotesquely pluck shrapnel out of Roger’s body. When Roger asks what it is, the doctor says, “Bone fragments. Not yours.”

Roger also gets mauled by a dog, and we see some serious puncture wounds on his leg. The subsequent shots he receives to prevent infection aren’t pretty to watch, either. “This is going to hurt,” Aisha says. Roger’s face is sometimes mottled by bruises, cuts and stitches.

But at least Roger survives … mostly. His adversaries are rarely so lucky, and audiences see him gun down dozens of terrorists in shoot-outs that send blood flying. We also see him in a dank room in which an apparent torture is taking place: A huge inquisitor beats a man with a paddle. Roger executes an informant to prevent him from revealing his identity, and he beats another man to death in an alley.

An explosion rips through a crowded flower market in Amsterdam. We’re asked to watch as the blast envelops its victims—at least 75, we learn later. Terrorists blow themselves up in an English apartment building, killing several police officers in the process. Another suicide bomber incinerates his own safe house. Still another explosion (this one staged) rocks Turkey. To augment the ruse, the target location is stocked with dead bodies (which audiences see being taken out of their body bags). Terrorists leave the body of an innocent man in a trash heap.

Crude or Profane Language

At least 50 f-words. Nearly 20 s-words. God’s name is linked with “d–n” more than a half-dozen times. Jesus’ name is abused almost as much.

Drug and Alcohol Content

Considering the fact that most of the film takes place in a country where alcoholic consumption is frowned upon, characters seem to do an awful lot of drinking (and smoking).

Other Negative Elements

Ed takes his children to school and watches their soccer games, but he tells Roger that he should never have kids. We’re shown Ed helping his kindergarten-age son urinate into a toilet.

Body of Lies is all about knowledge: Not just what we know and what we don’t, but what we think we know but don’t. Ed thinks he knows what he’s doing. He doesn’t. Hani thinks he knows who to trust. He doesn’t. Roger thinks he knows what’s going on. He—well, you get the idea.

Which, frankly, may be a pretty accurate description of what happens when no one tells the truth. In the film’s Middle Eastern ethos, friendships and trust still matter. Yet its protagonists foster only enemies and suspicion. For us non-spies out there, that’s a valuable lesson.

But is this lesson taught more effectively here than in, say, VeggieTales’ Larry-Boy! & the Fib From Outer Space! ? I think not. First, Larry-Boy is a likeable protagonist. Roger, in contrast, is kind of a twit. Larry-Boy does not gun down his adversaries in a bloody hail of bullets (not that he could hold the gun without any hands) or utter cascades of f-words. And I can’t think of any VeggieTales episode in which a veggie ties up another veggie and starts whacking off its extremities with a hammer.

No, VeggieTales and R-rated spy thrillers aren’t even close to an apples-to-apples comparison. But you get the point. Body of Lies is an overlong, overly disgusting actioner that, frankly, isn’t all that compelling. If someone tells you this is a “must-see” movie, don’t believe them. They’re lying.

Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.

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'Body of Lies': A flashy, lifeless thriller

Reviewed by A.O. Scott

Oct. 9, 2008

Body of Lies Directed by Ridley Scott (U.S.)

Ridley Scott's new movie, "Body of Lies," raises a potentially disturbing question. If terrorism has become boring, does that mean the terrorists have won? Or, conversely, is the grinding tedium of this film good news for our side, evidence of the awesome might of Western popular culture, which can turn even the most intransigent and bloodthirsty real-world villains into fodder for busy, contrived and lifeless action thrillers?

The second answer seems more plausible, but there are other puzzles in "Body of Lies" that are not so easily solved and that may distract from sober contemplation of geopolitical pseudo-realities. Such as: what exactly is going on with Leonardo DiCaprio's accent, or Russell Crowe's body mass index?

DiCaprio, playing a high-strung CIA operative named Roger Ferris, once again shows his commitment to full employment for dialect coaches, following the mock-Afrikaans of "Blood Diamond" and the South Boston braying of "The Departed" with some good-old-boy inflections that are helpfully identified by Crowe's character as originating in North Carolina.

Crowe, meanwhile, plays Ferris's supervisor, Ed Hoffman, who lives somewhere around Washington and has no specified regional background to explain his odd little drawl. At times Crowe, showing the linguistic chameleonism that is the birthright of every Australian actor, spits out his words with an emphatic twanginess that suggests, if not George W. Bush himself, then perhaps Jon Stewart impersonating Bush. It's possible that this resemblance is meant to suggest a parallel between the president and Hoffman, who is immune to self-doubt and allergic to second thoughts about the righteousness of his actions.

With an unusual display of impish delight, Crowe throws himself into the physicality of his character, a tubby suburban dad whose near-parodic commitment to domestic routine contrasts amusingly with his professional fanaticism. Using a hands-free cellphone, Hoffman orchestrates elaborate schemes and double-crosses while going about his daily paterfamilias business.

On the phone, and in his occasional surprise visits to Ferris in the field, Hoffman is fighting a war whose terms he lays out in a few set-piece speeches. The gist is that no one is innocent, and that the ends justify the means. Deceit, torture, the sacrifice of non-American lives - all is permissible in the fight against a shadowy super-jihadist named Al-Saleem (Alon Abutbul), head of a network carrying out suicide attacks around Europe. The contradictions and unintended consequences of Hoffman's tactics are borne by Ferris, who finds his credibility undermined, his friends and colleagues at risk and his life in danger.

All of which would be fine if "Body of Lies" - written by the "Departed" scribe William Monahan and based on a novel by David Ignatius, a columnist for The Washington Post and a former executive editor of the International Herald Tribune - were clearer either about its themes or its plot. As it is, the movie is a hodge-podge of borrowings and half-cooked ideas, flung together into a feverishly edited jet-setting exercise in purposeless intensity. Place names flash onto the screen and shiny black SUVs and Mercedes sedans screech through teeming streets or kick up dust clouds on empty desert roads. From time to time, an orange fireball erupts, and everything shows up on the satellite surveillance screens back at headquarters. (The film is being released worldwide this fall.)

In Jordan, Ferris flirts with Aisha (Golshifteh Farahani), an Iranian refugee who works as a nurse and who has even less of an organic relation to the narrative than poor Vera Farmiga did in "The Departed." The dramatic - I daresay the erotic - center of "Body of Lies" is an all-male triangle involving Ferris, Hoffman and Hani (Mark Strong), the head of Jordanian intelligence. Strong is a marvel of exotic suavity and cool insinuation. Hani calls Ferris "my dear," and may be more sincere in his affection than the ideologically driven Hoffman, who refers to his younger colleague more generically as "buddy."

If the psychological tensions linking these three were allowed time and space to develop, "Body of Lies" might have been a more surprising and interesting specimen of its genre. Instead, it throws out a few gestures toward topicality - an opening quote from the W.H. Auden poem that flew around the Internet just after 9/11; glances toward Gitmo and the Green Zone; an awkward dinner-table spat about U.S. foreign policy - without saying much of anything. Scott's professionalism is, as ever, present in every frame and scene, but this time it seems singularly untethered from anything like zeal, conviction or even curiosity.

Body of Lies Review

21 Nov 2008

128 minutes

Body of Lies

One of the criticisms levelled at Blade Runner on its debut was that while its director strained every sinew to render a mind-blowing vision of our near future, he didn’t give a bugger about the story. When it dawned on us that neon-lit dystopia and plot were inseparable, it was swiftly reclassified a masterpiece. Even so, 26 years later, Sir Ridley Scott is still conjuring rapturous atmospherics, but his new CIA thriller feels sorely in need of a plot.

Based on Washington Post columnist David Ignatius’ novel, Body Of Lies marks the conclusion of the director’s recent trilogy of East-West snarl-ups that began with Somali ram-raid Black Hawk Down, before dropping a few centuries forKingdomOfHeaven. Now we’re bang up-to-date following a CIA operative through Terror’s uneasy backwater.

Scott certainly hits the ground running with Al-Qaeda’s Manchester branch hitting the panic button, turning a humdrum terrace into a trillion bits of humdrum terrace — an explosion of such high-impact, thousand-angle, pop-pyrotechnic hoopla, including a natty slo-mo shockwave effect, you wonder if Ridley has gone all Tony on us. Soon enough, it’s clear which Scott we’re basking in.

As an Arab city-block is shot from on high, or a camera cuts across a jeep spraying perfect jets of dust, everything looks glorious. A vast rubbish tip becomes a lunar crater ringed in biblical light. Nothing escapes Scott’s Olympian aesthetic. Hire him to Camcorder your wedding, and he would demand a fusillade of wind-machines and have the bride drop-in by crane. There isn’t a better eye in the business, but where’s all this panoptic godliness getting us.

His film is in need of a backbone. The script hints at wisdom, moral complexity, suspense even, but it’s all too jargonised and impatient. What emerges is a scattershot of subplots, vaguely tied together by the search for a big hat in Osama’s gang and the moral malaise assailing field agent DiCaprio beneath the brunt of commander Crowe’s callous philosophy. Crowe’s fleshy interlocutor occupies the moral low-ground — saving civilisation victim by victim.

Their relationship is no more than a series of verbal scraps, mostly on the phone. In fact, knotting some loose ends, you could excise Crowe’s puppet-master Hoffman entirely. Which would be a shame, as he’s the better of the two, doing one of his lugubrious bugbears, sprung with juicy line-readings and black humour, while DiCaprio’s Ferris is burdened with intensity and a beard borrowed from a goat’s backside. He has the odd telling moment. There’s a smarting close-up of bone splinters being tweezered out of his torso — a gift from his former driver. And to help feed his disillusionment, he attempts a dalliance with a local nurse (Golshifteh Farahani).

All portly Hoffman has to do is sit on his arse in Langley, sardonically directing traffic in deepest using peek-a-boo satellites. One of the few salient concepts is the malign influence technology has had on the conflict. “We’re like men from the future,” sneers Hoffman — which is exactly why they’re losing the fight. CIA goons flit about crumbling cities holding impenetrable arguments on Bluetooth headsets, while the terrorists remain invisible. In the words of J. K. Simmons’ bemused suit from Burn After Reading: “Report back to me when it makes sense.”

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Body of Lies (2008)

Welcome to Vibes, TMDB's new rating system! For more information, visit the contribution bible .

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Trust no one. Deceive everyone.

The CIA’s hunt is on for the mastermind of a wave of terrorist attacks. Roger Ferris is the agency’s man on the ground, moving from place to place, scrambling to stay ahead of ever-shifting events. An eye in the sky – a satellite link – watches Ferris. At the other end of that real-time link is the CIA’s Ed Hoffman, strategizing events from thousands of miles away. And as Ferris nears the target, he discovers trust can be just as dangerous as it is necessary for survival.

David Ignatius

Novel, Screenplay

Ridley Scott

William Monahan

Top Billed Cast

Leonardo DiCaprio

Roger Ferris

Russell Crowe

Mark Strong

Ali Suliman

Omar Sadiki

Simon McBurney

Michael Gaston

Mehdi Nebbou

Golshifteh Farahani

Oscar Isaac

Full Cast & Crew

Discussions 2

A review by GenerationofSwine

Written by generationofswine on january 14, 2023.

Crowe got second billing and they gave the limelight to DiCaprio instead...that's a great idea. that means that, as usual, DiCaprio is going to shine doing his "this is how you become a different person" thing and Crowe is going to actually act and not just try to hog the limelight.

The result is a tense and very well acted film.

It should have been a Masterpiece but...it was released in 2008 and America wanted pure escapism then, not tense spy thrillers that reflect the reality of two long endless wars...and it was released a little too close to The Good Shepard.

In fact, it felt a lo... read the rest.

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Original Language English

Budget $70,000,000.00

Revenue $113,280,098.00

falsely accused
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Body of Lies

Review by brian eggert october 10, 2008.

Body of Lies considers how well-meaning antiterrorism approaches the very thing it seeks to destroy. Maintaining a tightly-knit yarn involving CIA spies, terrorist plots, and an exorbitant misuse of power, the result contains as much excitement as it does sharp contemporary relevance. Set at a breakneck pace, the film doesn’t slow, challenging the audience to keep up as it jumps from country to country, always staying ahead of its viewers in the way sophisticated moviegoers savor.

Rather than going into detail about the multifaceted plot, first, consider the foundations of its characters: Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Roger Ferris, an agent fluent in Arabic who seemingly lives in the Middle East, caught between the ever-present threats on the ground and the voice instructing him from thousands of miles away. Belonging to Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe), the voice in Ferris’ ear is nihilistic and selfish, determined to fight a war with technology when the enemy has disconnected all equipment. The two communicate almost exclusively by phone, the soldier Ferris on a cell, and Hoffman on an earpiece, always comically attending to some mundane family scene in the background.

In Jordan, Ferris makes contact with Hani Salaam (British actor Mark Strong), the resident intelligence chief whose plan to expose an Al Qaeda terrorist flooding Europe with bombings is the tactical placement of a mole. That’s not good enough for Hoffman, who, despite agreements between Ferris and Salaam, operates on his own accord without consideration of the consequences to his operative. While desperately trying to obtain Salaam’s trust, Ferris attempts to keep Hoffman back, losing credibility and possibly his life should Hoffman’s impatient decisions make it appear like Ferris has broken his word.

The performances are as complex as the subject matter. DiCaprio delivers another in an impressive string of roles, adding weighted gravitas with burgeoning visual anguish in his eyes. Crowe reportedly packed on fifty pounds for the role of Hoffman, playing him as detached from both sides of his life, almost cartoonish in his deviousness and arrogance. These two name actors are given a run for their money by Strong, from Stardust and Sunshine , who, disappearing into the Jordanian role, offers a character both smooth and terrifying in his sense of strategy.

Given the actionized nature of this whirling spy story, visionary director Ridley Scott might be accused of making something more aligned with his brother’s career. But Body of Lies remains a coherent and mature thriller, versus the over-edited and occasionally mindless features of Tony Scott (such as Enemy of the State , Man on Fire , and Spy Game ). Ridley knows when to tell a story with elegance and patience ( Alien , Blade Runner ), and when to turn up the volume ( Black Hawk Down ). And his stylized approach always comes with visual clarity, even amid shootouts and explosions when the camera is shaking about, sand is in the air, and gunfire rockets from all directions.

Adding the density we’ve come to expect from his work, screenwriter William Monahan adapted David Ignatius’ novel into a twisting and exciting text. If you’re unfamiliar with Monahan’s name, please make a note to track his career. His first credit came in 2005 with Scott’s wonderful Kingdom of Heaven , a massive and thoughtful epic only so on the Director’s Cut DVD, versus the neutered Theatrical Cut. And lest we forget, Monahan is an Oscar winner for his bravado effort in Martin Scorsese’s The Departed . Monahan brings to the foreground a sense of energy and fleshed-out characterizations, even while acknowledging the sad but sometimes necessary truth that the intelligence community bears a wealth of moral ambiguity.

Few actioners this fine harbor such acumen and narrative complexity, avoid becoming a clear message, and still keep us involved. Somewhere between similarly themed films like The Kingdom and Traitor , Scott’s picture lends meaning to the action, whereas the former was excessively violent and the latter approached melodrama. Asking bold questions about the consequences of retaliation and its slippery slope, the film neither preaches about nor ignores the current geopolitical nightmare yet manages to be incredibly entertaining.

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Movie Review: Body of Lies (2008)

General Disdain
Movie Reviews
4 responses
--> October 16, 2008

“Welcome to Guantanamo”, Al-Saleem says to Roger Ferris before he crushes his fingers with a hammer. It is an excruciatingly tense scene that would have gone a lot farther without the obvious shot at the current political landscape. But aside from that, I’ll give Ridley Scott credit; he deftly avoided making the same agenda driven mistakes in his latest thriller Body of Lies that recent government spy thrillers have fallen into, putting together arguably one of the best written, directed and acted films of the year.

In it, Leonardo DiCaprio becomes Ferris, the street smart and increasingly disenfranchised CIA agent trying like hell to make a real difference in the war on terror. His cynicism grows because his handler, Ed Hoffman (Russel Crowe), who rests comfortably in his home in the States, views Ferris’ marks as an expendable resource to be used and tossed away once their information has been mined. When a situation ends poorly in Iraq (Hoffman turns his back on an informant which leads to Ferris’ discovery), Ferris is shipped to Jordan to lead an effort to infiltrate a suspected safe house for an al-Qaeda-like leader Al-Saleem (Alon Aboutboul). To gain access, Ferris quickly realizes he needs the aid of Hani Salaam (Mark Strong), the head of Jordanian Intelligence. Hoffman doesn’t agree, thinking American technology can overcome any and all local input. This fundamental ideological difference creates an atmosphere ripe for disagreements, lies and double crosses.

The guys feeling the short end of the stick are the characters portrayed by DiCaprio and to a lesser extent Strong, both of whom put on show-stopping performances. In DiCaprio’s case, he’s simply fed up with the bureaucratic bullshit which, time and time again, causes him to sacrifice hard earned sources and jeopardize his missions (not to mention his own life). From a personal standpoint, I can’t say I blame him for his frustrations, as working under those conditions is damn near impossible. These continued incursions allow for DiCaprio to showcase his acting strengths; mainly running through the entire emotional spectrum as few can. As for Strong’s character, he’s more on the ball and has the ability to overcome the manipulations and coercions applied by the US government. That doesn’t stop them from trying to circumvent him at every pass though, which gives him the opportunity to play the role, cool, calm and dead serious — never showing the cards in his hand while insisting everyone else does.

And while I’m on the topic of actors, Crowe shouldn’t be left out of the equation either. While his characterization of a desk jockey who believes his methods are best isn’t on par with his co-stars, he’s more than believable. Besides gaining 50 pounds for a part is no easy task either (just ask Bobby De Niro or Sly Stallone), although I hardly think it was a necessary measure to take to add realism to the portrayal.

The only hiccup in Body of Lies (other than the unneeded Guantanamo reference) is the quasi-love story that manifests itself halfway through the film between Ferris and an Iranian nurse Aisha (Golshifteh Farahani). The purpose of it is understood, but it feels awkward and unnatural — especially in light of the intense life and death situations waging around them. No matter, it is forgivable as there are bigger things afoot in the film.

What matters in the end is that Ridley Scott was able to present a highly entertaining film that broaches the difficult subject of American foreign policy and global terrorism, in what I suspect is a truthful manner, without interjecting any personal beliefs. For this he should be applauded as it is much harder to do than it sounds. 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.

I'm an old, miserable fart set in his ways. Some of the things that bring a smile to my face are (in no particular order): Teenage back acne, the rain on my face, long walks on the beach and redneck women named Francis. Oh yeah, I like to watch and criticize movies.

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'Movie Review: Body of Lies (2008)' have 4 comments

October 18, 2008 @ 6:32 am Jimmy

I’ll agree this is a good film but its not that good. More than a few things drag the movie down for me.

How could an obvious American roam about the streets without being molested? I seriously doubt USA has spy satellites and drones that can capture every move by everyone everywhere. The scheme to catch Al-Saleem was a tad far fetched for me. The love story was unwarranted.

November 3, 2008 @ 9:25 pm Maram

The movie was not fair at all on presenting Muslims and Arabs. Islam does not in any way encourage violence. Bism Allah which is what was start with meaning “in the name of Allah the most gracious the most merciful” has been misused in the movie because it always implied bombing is coming after. This is unacceptable because it is not true, logically how can a God who is named most gracious and most merciful encourage such acts of terrorism? Even the scene where Al-Saleem explains a verse in the Quran was misinterpreted. Prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon him) is a leader who respects human rights, children’s rights, women rights, even animal rights, he is a leader who in time of war taught the soldiers not to hurt children, women, and the elderly. He is a prophet who Allah described in the Quran to be a prophet He the Almighty sent to the world with the best of manners. He is a prophet who was known amongst Non-Muslims as much as Muslims as the “Honest and trustworthy” he was known amongst Non-Muslims as much as Muslims to be the the “Fair.” His wise, fair, and honest judgment was always requested by Non-Muslims as much Muslims to resolve times of argument and conflict. Being a community lead by such a pure hearted, generous, respectful, descent, honest, trustworthy, merciful, loving, cheerful person is enough to show a clearer and true picture of Muslims. May Peace Be Upon Prophet Mohammed.

March 13, 2009 @ 6:17 pm Salwa

I’m so into movies that are related to islam & arabs in the mean time. as for this movie i think it’s worth seeing, but it is no where near the truth of what’s going on in the arab world or let’s say Jordan, i’ve heard some rumors that the request to film in Jordan was declined, but at least a team of researchers could’ve come to Jordan & see what it actually looks like, Amman is a mix of Beirut, Cairo, Dubai all in one. The movie only portrayed it as a poor place with stupid marketplaces.

What i would like to point at is the cast, i must applaud the -kind of- good arabic language, but there are millions of arab actors who could’ve done a much better job in both speaking the language & in actually looking arab. AISHA???? she doesn’t look arabic let alone Jordanian, Jordanian girls who are from palestinian descent have ligher skin & hair. Aisha is not even close to being a beduin.

The movie had great directing but i think later movies should pay more attention to the diverse audience they cater to & keep in mind that movies create images about people that haunt them for generations to come.

June 11, 2009 @ 9:20 am bill

@ jimmy, you don’t know much about the cia or the middle east, do you?

i agree, however, the love story was a waste of film

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Body of Lies (United States, 2008)

Body of Lies is an adult thriller with such a high narrative density that even a brief trip to the restroom may result in key plot points being lost. The film is the antithesis of a slick, superficial feature like Eagle Eye . It both demands and rewards thought. It engages the mind instead of punishing those who use it for reasoning. Body of Lies neither panders nor condescends. It involves current events and has a political viewpoint, but it overplays neither. And, while the movie is very much story-driven, it doesn't lose sight of the characters along the way. It's smart and complex in the same way that films like Syriana and The Departed are smart and complex.

Ridley Scott isn't afraid to take risks and he has built up enough Hollywood credibility to allow him to make the film he wants. Body of Lies isn't going to find much favor among the teenage crowd but it is the kind of motion picture that older, more sophisticated viewers hunger for. Despite the convoluted nature of the storyline and the way events jump from one location to another, Body of Lies is consistently well paced and, as it moves past the 60 minute mark into its second hour, it begins to exhibit more of what we expect from a thriller: tension and suspense.

Rather than attempting to dissect the plot in any detail, the best approach is to lay the groundwork. Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe) are a CIA team. Ferris is the field guy; he has all the contacts and knows the layout. He can move with ease from Iraq to Jordan to Syria. He can tell that a nurse working in Amman is from Iran based on her accent. Hoffman is his desk-bound boss, who sits like a spider at the center of a web in Langley, watching Ferris from above via real-time satellite images. It's the ultimate Big Brother scenario. Ferris and Hoffman's latest operation has them going after an Osama Bin Laden clone, Al-Saleem (Alon Aboutboul). To do this, they must partner with the head of Jordan's Intelligence Agency, Hani (Mark Strong). But Hani is as smart and manipulative as any CIA director and Ferris finds himself trapped between orders from Hoffman and the Jordanian's single directive: Do not lie to me.

Body of Lies crisscrosses the globe, with scenes taking place in no less than a half-dozen countries, including the United States, England, Holland, Iraq, Jordan, and Syria. While the globe-trotting may be James Bond-like, the activities of the spies are not. There's nothing suave or dignified in the ways these characters interact. The do not take their martinis shaken (not stirred) - they gulp down the vodka in one mouthful and get on with the job. For the most part, the tone is one of seriousness, but Scott allows for one scene of levity and a little light romance. Visually, the film is interesting in the way it uses satellite images to present a wider, bird's eye view of the action.

The screenwriter is William Monahan (adapting from a novel by David Ignatius), who is developing a reputation as someone whose scripts are multifaceted and detailed. He took the basics of Infernal Affairs and fleshed them out for The Departed . And his original storyline for Kingdom of Heaven was far more thought-provoking than the neutered version that reached screens (as anyone who has seen the Director's Cut will testify). The screenplay for Body of Lies is in the same league. It's refreshing to watch a movie where the viewer is not always two steps ahead of the characters.

In essence, the movie has a deceptively simple theme that is italicized by an opening quote by W.H. Auden: "Those to whom evil is done Do evil in return." It's about the slippery slope that exists when those with the best intentions begin to emulate the tactics of the enemy in order to defeat them. Body of Lies illustrates this in ways that are neither obvious nor expected. The most chilling thing about the film may be its verisimilitude. Where Eagle Eye exists only in the realm of science fiction, it's possible that things like those depicted in Body of Lies are happening now in the real world. Rarely has the question of whether the end justifies the means been brought to the fore in such a forceful and brutal manner.

There is a scene late in the movie that will distress some viewers. Seen objectively, it's far less graphic than what one might expect from a horror movie. Scott does not dwell lovingly on the violence, but he makes it perfectly clear what's going on. So why is this so more unsettling than the routine eviscerations depicted in the Saw s and Hostel s? Because the characters in this film seem like real people, not fodder to feed a serial killer. Body of Lies takes the time to flesh out Ferris and Hoffman. The latter is depicted talking to his man-on-the-ground while spending time with his family. The latter is allowed to romance the nurse who treats him for rabies.

I don't think either Leonardo DiCaprio or Russell Crowe will be in line for an acting nomination as a result of their work here. Although they give strong performances, there's nothing showy about them. These portrayals are straightforward and convincing; there's no mugging for the camera. Crowe exhibits his versatility by playing a sleazy, obnoxious man who pushes around people like chess pieces. DiCaprio builds upon his work in The Departed and Blood Diamond . They are ably assisted by Mark Strong, whose beguiling interpretation of Hani may be the best piece of acting the movie has to offer. He gives the impression of how Satan may have convinced Eve to partake in the Garden of Eden.

Numerous recent movies have used the current, unstable geopolitical situation as a backdrop. Few have done it as effectively as Body of Lies , and almost none are as free of preaching. Scott acknowledges the gulf of moral ambiguity that exists for those working in the intelligence field, and pursues it to its natural conclusion. For those who care about there being more to a thriller than pointless car chases and over-edited fight sequences, Body of Lies offers a satisfying dose of truth.

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BODY OF LIES

"a murky world for murky times".

What You Need To Know:

(B, PC, FR, LLL, VVV, N, A, D, M) Light but somewhat murky and unsatisfying moral worldview with some positive references to God but also some light political correctness, plus Muslim characters are involved in the story but the movie neither promotes nor rejects Islamic theology, though man argues about what the Koran actually says about violence against non-Muslims with another man in one scene; at least 65 obscenities and 10 strong profanities; some very strong violence includes two fingers smashed with a hammer to the point of being cut off, torture, a planned beheading that’s not completed, and a man is punished by being whipped on his naked rear end, plus plenty of action violence such as explosions, bombs, rocket propelled grenades, gunfights, chases through streets, threats of torture, fighting; no sexual content; brief upper and rear male nudity; alcohol use; smoking; and, lying, deceit, kidnapping, terrorism rebuked, and movie flirts with anti-American content but never quite gets there.

More Detail:

BODY OF LIES is a spy thriller from Ridley Scott starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe. The movie’s premise is a bit fuzzy in the first act, so it’s hard to identify with the main characters and their goals. Once the direction of the story is cleared up, it may be too late for moviegoers to invest their hearts and minds into the plot and characters. The movie is never boring or uninteresting, however.

After a brief setup about terrorist in England, the movie opens in Iraq. Roger Ferris, an American CIA agent played by Leonardo DiCaprio, is working undercover getting intel on Muslim terrorists so the military can blow them to kingdom come. Back in the states, Roger’s boss, Ed Hoffman, played by Russell Crowe, orders Roger not to bring a terrorist turned informant back to the U.S. Though the man now wants out of the terrorist ranks because he doesn’t want to be a suicide bomber, Hoffman figures that the man doesn’t deserve asylum because he decided to be a terrorist in the first place. Hoffman’s decision brings certain death to the informant, which Hoffman doesn’t mind because that may lead Roger to the man’s former terrorist buddies. This calculating decision angers Roger, who’s sympathetic to the man’s plight and feels the man deserves a reward.

The informant’s inevitable death leads Roger to the camp of a terrorist cell run by a ruthless Muslim Jihadist named Al-Saleem. Barely escaping with his life, Roger picks up information from the camp that Al-Saleem may have a safe house in Amman, Jordan.

Hoffman orders Roger to Amman to get the cooperation of Jordan’s head of intelligence, a charismatic fellow named Hani Salaam. “Never lie to me,” Hani tells Roger.

Roger’s boss, however, is running another, related operation in Jordan, without telling Roger. Eventually, Hoffman’s shenanigans result in Hani kicking Roger out of the country.

Though incredibly upset about this turn of events, Roger creates a plan to bring Al-Saleem out of his hiding hole. The plan backfires, however, endangering Roger’s life. His boss’s way of conducting business makes things worse.

Once it gets going, BODY OF LIES reveals itself to be like a modern-day version of those murky spy movies from the 1960s that tried to present a more realistic take on the espionage game. In those movies, the protagonist can’t trust anyone, not even his boss or the people with whom he works who are supposed to be on his side. The first act also gives a few minor indications that the movie may be just another Hollywood attack on America’s war against evil Muslim terrorists, but this turns out not to be the case. Even so, the movie has a light politically correct attitude about the War on Terror that dilutes any gung-ho, pro-American, rah-rah notions inherent in this plot, where Muslim terrorists are indeed a source of ruthless cruelty and evil. As Hoffman tells Roger a couple times, there are no completely innocent people in their line of work. Sadly, the result of all this is that, while it’s entertaining and never boring, BODY OF LIES doesn’t live up to the four-star quality movie it could have been. The belated beginning and murky morality are not entirely satisfying or believable. The movie also lacks that certain something, that spark of brilliance that makes a great spy thriller stick in one’s memory. The performances are excellent, however.

Finally, BODY OF LIES contains plenty of strong foul language and some very strong violence. This content warrants extreme caution.

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Body of Lies Movie Review & Film Summary (2008)
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COMMENTS

Body of Lies movie review & film summary (2008)
If you take a step back from the realistic locations and terse dialogue, Ridley Scott's "Body of Lies" is a James Bond plot inserted into today's headlines. The film wants to be persuasive in its expertise about modern spycraft, terrorism, the CIA and Middle East politics. But its hero is a lone ranger who operates in three countries, single-handedly creates a fictitious terrorist organization ...
Body of Lies
Body of Lies. R Released Oct 10, 2008 2 hr. 8 min. Drama Mystery & Thriller Action List. 56% 216 Reviews Tomatometer 62% 100,000+ Ratings Audience Score CIA agent Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio ...
Body of Lies (film)
Body of Lies is a 2008 American spy action thriller film directed and produced by Ridley Scott, written by William Monahan, and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe and Golshifteh Farahani in the lead roles. Set in the Middle East, it follows the attempts of the CIA and the GID of Jordan to catch "al-Saleem", a terrorist. Frustrated by their target's elusiveness, differences in their ...
Body of Lies (2008)
Body of Lies: Directed by Ridley Scott. With Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Mark Strong, Golshifteh Farahani. A CIA agent on the ground in Jordan hunts down a powerful terrorist leader while being caught between the unclear intentions of his American supervisors and Jordan Intelligence.
Body of Lies
Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 24, 2011. Body of Lies is an extremely well paced, tightly wound, and intensely violent thriller. There is no damnation or congratulations here. As Russell ...
'Body of Lies' Review: Movie (2008)
'Body of Lies': Film Review. It may not be as much fun as old spy movies starring Cary Grant or more recent entertainments such as 'Spy Game,' directed by Ridley's brother Tony, but it feels ...
Body of Lies
Philip French reviews Ridley Scott's Body of Lies, a spy thriller that follows a CIA agent and his boss as they chase a terrorist leader across the Middle East. French criticizes the film's lack ...
Body of Lies
Aug 7, 2020. Body Of Lies is a decent movie. The plot is interesting and it's pretty much about this CIA agent called Roger (Leonardo DiCaprio) who finds out about this major terrorist leader. So him and his boss Ed (Russell Crowe) decide to make a plan to trap Al-Saleem but things don't go the right way, which they wanted them to go.
The Movie Review: 'Body of Lies'
With Body of Lies, Scott once again turns his eye to conflict in the Middle East, though this time he wisely keeps his moral and historical frames in present-day alignment. The result is a film ...
Body of Lies (2008)
Body of Lies is a James Bond plot inserted into today's headlines. The film wants to be persuasive in its expertise about modern spycraft, terrorism, the CIA and Middle East politics. But its hero is a lone ranger who operates in three countries, single-handedly creates a fictitious terrorist organization, and survives explosions, gunfights ...
Body of Lies Review
Body of Lies Review. By Vic Holtreman. Published Oct 11, 2008. Body of Lies delivers excellent performances along with realistic action, suspense and drama. My impression of Body of Lies based on the commercials and trailers was that it was going to be a taught, intense thriller - much more grounded in reality than your typical spy movie.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe, Fighting Terror and Testing Their
Movie Review | 'Body of Lies' Big Stars Wielding an Array of Accents, Fighting the War on Terrorism. Share full article. Russell Crowe as Ed Hoffman and Leonardo DiCaprio as Roger Ferris in "Body ...
Body of Lies Movie Review
Our review: Parents say ( 1 ): Kids say ( 7 ): The tension begins from the first moment and rarely lets up in Ridley Scott 's BODY OF LIES. The quick camera cuts and the rough, gritty terrain add to the pressure. All good to be sure.
Review: Body of Lies (2008)
Body of Lies (2008) Directed by: Ridley Scott Premise: A CIA field operative (Leonardo DiCaprio) works with Jordanian anti-terrorism officials to track down an Islamic extremist leader while trying to minimize the interference of his scheming supervisor (Russell Crowe). What Works: Body of Lies has some great performances by Russell Crowe as a pushy and arrogant CIA boss who is willing to use ...
Body of Lies
Movie Review. Roger Ferris is a big ol' fibber. He is, after all, a spy, ... Body of Lies deals frankly with Islamic terrorism's spiritual underpinnings, as well as the wider Muslim culture that surrounds it. Al-Saleem talks in religious language to his followers, and Roger and a terrorist engage in a back-and-forth debate as to whether ...
'Body of Lies': A flashy, lifeless thriller
Body of Lies Directed by Ridley Scott (U.S.) Ridley Scott's new movie, "Body of Lies," raises a potentially disturbing question. ... As it is, the movie is a hodge-podge of borrowings and half ...
Body of Lies Review
15. Original Title: Body of Lies. One of the criticisms levelled at Blade Runner on its debut was that while its director strained every sinew to render a mind-blowing vision of our near future ...
Body of Lies (2008)
Director. William Monahan. Screenplay. Written by GenerationofSwine on January 14, 2023. The CIA's hunt is on for the mastermind of a wave of terrorist attacks. Roger Ferris is the agency's man on the ground, moving from place to place, scrambling to stay ahead of ever-shifting events. An eye in the sky - a satellite link - watches Ferris.
Body of Lies (2008)
Body of Lies considers how well-meaning antiterrorism approaches the very thing it seeks to destroy. Maintaining a tightly-knit yarn involving CIA spies, terrorist plots, and an exorbitant misuse of power, the result contains as much excitement as it does sharp contemporary relevance.
Movie Review: Body of Lies (2008)
For this he should be applauded as it is much harder to do than it sounds. 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. Critical Movie Critic Rating: 5. Movie Review: Quarantine (2008)
Body of Lies Movie Reviews
Body of Lies Critic Reviews and Ratings Powered by Rotten Tomatoes Rate Movie. Close Audience Score. The percentage of users who made a verified movie ticket purchase and rated this 3.5 stars or higher. ... Purchase one or more movie tickets to see 'Unsung Hero' using your account on Fandango.com or the Fandango app between 9:00am PT on 4 ...
Body of Lies
Body of Lies (United States, 2008) A movie review by James Berardinelli. Body of Lies is an adult thriller with such a high narrative density that even a brief trip to the restroom may result in key plot points being lost. The film is the antithesis of a slick, superficial feature like Eagle Eye. It both demands and rewards thought.
BODY OF LIES
BODY OF LIES is still entertaining and never boring. It has excellent performances. Ultimately, the movie reveals itself to be more like the murky spy thrillers in the 1960s that tried to present a more realistic take on the espionage game. The belated beginning and murky morality are not entirely satisfying or believable.

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