BODY OF LIES (Cert. 15, 128 mins)
Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Mark Strong, Golshifteh Farahani, Oscar Isaac, Ali Suliman, Alon Aboutboul
Directed by Ridley Scott
IN THE war on terror, there are no winners, only victims. Power to bring the conflict to a resolution rests not in the trembling hands of soldiers – the brave men and women who risk their lives in the name of freedom – but in the upper echelons of power in Washington DC and Langley, Virginia.
In these corridors, nameless men in suits pore over covert intelligence, making decisions which could result in the loss of hundreds of innocent lives: collateral damage deemed necessary to track down the masterminds behind the atrocities.
Opening with a devastating explosion, Body Of Lies channels timely fears about the fight against terrorism into a routine spy caper, enlivened sporadically by the directorial brio of Ridley Scott.
The British film-maker grafts some robust, adrenaline-pumping action sequences onto the disappointing plot, including the bombing of a Dutch market place, which leaves us feeling queasy as the horrifying moment of impact replays via CCTV.
CIA supervisor Ed Hoffman (Crowe) is a key player in overseas operations. From the comfort of his suburban life as a doting father, Ed co-ordinates the day-to-day activities of agent Roger Ferris (DiCaprio), who is authorised to use extreme force to ensure the safety of America and its people.
Together, Ed and Roger pursue the elusive Al-Saleem (Aboutboul), head of a terrorist cell responsible for numerous bombings across Europe.
However, the closer the two men edge to their target, the greater the chance of innocent civilians and US operatives being caught in the crossfire.
To achieve his goal, Roger aligns himself with Hani Salaam (Strong), head of the Jordanian General Intelligence Department (GID).
Roger is frugal with the truth and sparks a tentative romance with Jordanian-Iranian nurse Aisha (Farahani), who tends to his wounds at a clinic.
The relationship exposes Roger, and Al-Saleem seizes the opportunity to strike back against the infidels, with deadly force.
There is nothing subtle about Body of Lies, which reunites director Scott with leading man Crowe for their third film since the Oscar-winning epic, Gladiator.
Marc Streitenfeld’s orchestral score keeps time with the erratic pacing, delivering bombast to accompany the pyrotechnics.
DiCaprio is lacklustre in a predominantly reactive role, but Crowe shines as an overweight family man, juggling energetic children with decisions of national importance via a mobile phone and omnipresent earpiece, which never appears to lose signal range.
Now that’s impressive.
