Directed by:
Ridley ScottScreenplay:
William MonahanCinematography:
Alexander WittComposer:
Marc StreitenfeldCast:
Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Mark Strong, Golshifteh Farahani, Oscar Isaac, Vince Colosimo, Michael Gaston, Ali Suliman, Omar Berdouni, Lubna Azabal (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
The CIAs hunt is on for the mastermind of a wave of terrorist attacks. Roger Ferris is the agencys 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 CIAs 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. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (11)
I came away from this two-hour conversation film, which cynically glosses over the current tense situation in the Arab world, and occasionally, as if unwittingly, jumps to some good action sequences, knowing I was going to give it four pure stars. But a day has passed now and I’m more and more puzzled by the fact that Scott and Monahan thought it through even deeper, that the black humor is damn chilling and that the current state of the region cannot actually be changed, although it also cannot be prolonged indefinitely. Immediately afterward, my mind flashed to the perfect acting trio of a certain Crowe, the uncompromising DiCaprio, and especially the chillingly charismatic Strong. In addition, the honestly sharp visuals and the fact that this blockbuster autumn probably won't get any more stimulating ensure that I’m giving it the full five stars. Ridley’s rolling Hollywood in his old age like nobody’s business! Edit: It's not as good the second time around, but still a strong 4 stars.
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Less straightforward and more “intel” and “hi-tech” than Kingdom. Some people might like it, others not, but the fact remains that you would hardly guess that this talky spy film was directed by the master of visual and compositional image, Ridley Scott. There are several quality action scenes and sequences where he plays with the contour of colors, but there is nothing extra in this regard. And it is not even reached by the stunning dark contact lenses of Leonardo DiCaprio, who this time did not get as much space as in Blood Diamond and is overshadowed by Russell Crowe and especially the demonic and elegant Mark Strong, probably the most interesting character of the film. Overall, too much talk and too little action for my taste – although very high-quality and impactful. Kingdom is a simpler film and deals with Eastern culture in a very straightforward and simple way, but I liked it more than Body of Lies, which tries to go into depth but does it in a very uninteresting and overly talkative manner.
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All the ingredients are here but this time it's no gourmet delicacy. It’s as though Ridley Scott was resting and not giving it his full concentration like he did recently with the American Gangster. In any case, the actors were excellent, the bearded DiCaprio gets cooler with every movie, Russell Crowe perfectly pulls off a dad/agent who teaches his son to go to the bathroom, the imaginary crown was stolen by Mark Strong whose Hani could easily carry a movie all of his own. The rest is an almost textbook hi-tech spy scenario. Smart enough to impress you, not good enough to drool over with bliss for two hours. 75%
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Three or four stars? I can’t decide. Body of Lies is unable to make up its mind whether it wants to be an entertaining film or one with a message. Unfortunately, it fails at both. The entertainment factor shows up only in a few shootout scenes between constant telephone calls and changes in location, while the “edifying” aspect appears here and there delivered by Russel Crowe (as satirical black humour) and Mark Strong. Plotwise it’s nothing remarkable, either, and I can’t avoid the feeling that the film could have easily continued for another half hour after the unforgettable scene of Leonard’s torture (instead of ending quite abruptly), while the first hour could be left out almost completely. Regardless of that, Body of Lies is not bad at all – it’s directed and acted with panache – it simply fails to impress.
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Well, that's the way it is. While most people were watching our hockey players advance to the World Championship finals, I was watching Body of Lies. And I really don't believe that the hockey was more exciting! A delicious performance by Mark Strong, the chubby office rat Crowe, a (traditionally) great DiCaprio... They all star in what I think is a perfect film that brought Ridley Scott and his crew of filmmakers to the Middle East for the fourth time. It was fascinating to watch Scott's work with the story - he sticks to one main storyline, then gradually packs in more and more, letting them weave in and out of each other with such ease that the viewer can follow everything without any issues, and it all culminates in a heart attack scene with the hammer in the lead role. Wow.
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