Body of Lies (2008)

Ridley Scott's foray into the world of surveillance in the middle east was pretty much panned across the board on release. As a Scott fan, when this reaction also met Kingdom Of Heaven (2005) I still felt it necessary to give it a go, and even went so far as purchasing the Directors Cut. Sadly it was rubbish. Happily, Body Of Lies is nowhere near as dull as Kingdom Of Heaven. Leonardo DiCaprio is Russell Crowe's agent on the ground all over the map (Iraq, Jordan, Syria amongst others) essentially gaining information to tackle the war on terror. Body Of Lies moves at breakneck speed, and there's no doubt that its pace makes it easier to forget its gaping plot holes and nonsensical decision making by some of those whose job it is makes these calls. DiCaprio ends up inventing a terrorist cell to coax a terrorist into the light for capture; it borders on ludicrousness but the editing is so swift in cutting and chopping you away from thinking about how and why this happening, you simply don't notice until afterwards. It's also helped in its attempted authenticity by a terrific performance from Mark Strong as the Jordanian General Intelligence Directorate, and a far too short cameo from Oscar Isaac early on. All in all Body Of Lies is a mess of a film, but it's a very entertaining one, and watching it in the current climate probably lends to the authenticity of the horrors on screen here. 6.7/10