Body of Lies

Spy thrillers are rarely plausible -- and suspending belief may be part of the fun of watching them. That's the observation of most critics in their reviews of Body of Lies, starring Leonard DiCaprio and Russell Crowe. For example, Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times concludes: "Body of Lies contains enough you can believe, or almost believe, that you wish so much of it weren't sensationally implausible." Kenneth Turan in the Los Angeles Times reaches the same conclusion. "The skill of top-flight director Ridley Scott and his veteran production team, not to mention the ability of stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe, ensure that this story of spies and terrorism in the Middle East is always crisp and watchable," he writes, "but as the film's episodic story gradually reveals itself, it ends up too unconvincing and conventional to consistently hold our attention." Joe Neumaier in the New York Daily News has little patience for the routine nature of the spy flick. To him it "aims to be up-to-the-moment -- yet feels same-old, same-old." Likewise Lou Lumenick concludes in the New York Post, "There's nothing here we haven't seen in many other movies." Lisa Kennedy in the Denver Post chimes in: "Body of Lies is an A-list project with B-game results. The movie might be set in the Age of Jihad. But the rules of trust and mistrust are wholly familiar." A.O. Scott in the New York Times writes that director 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."

Intriguing plot twists and consistent action make this movie interesting to watch.Pretty dark view of the USA and an anticlimactic ending take away from what could have been a 4 star film.