Exciting enough while it's unfolding, but it lacks an original element and there aren't enough scenes where Crowe and DiCaprio are playing off each other.
1 Comment
10/17/08
Body of Lies (2008)
51
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:188
Fresh:96
Rotten:92
Average Rating:5.7/10
Consensus: Body of Lies relies on the performances of Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio to elevate it beyond the conventional espionage thriller.
Australian Theatrical Release:
Oct 9, 2008 Wide
US Box Office: $39,380,442
Synopsis: Leonardo DiCaprio fights terrorists for the CIA in this rapid-fire thriller from director Ridley Scott (GLADIATOR, BLACK HAWK DOWN). While Roger Ferris (DiCaprio) gets his hands dirty on the... [More]
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Mark Strong, Golshifteh Farahani
Director: Ridley Scott
Reviews for Body of Lies
1 - 20 (sorted by comments; Australian critics are listed first)
Top CriticSome show is made of plunging the viewer into a dense cloud of moral ambiguity, but this is mostly smoke and mirrors: while the American heroes may employ some dubious tactics, the justice of their cause is never in doubt.
10/10/08
Top CriticLies and consequences form the heart of this bold, hard-hitting drama in which people are used as commodities, while Big Brother keeps a watchful eye -- both DiCaprio and Crowe inhabit their characters totally
10/04/08
Top CriticConvincing and gripping, Body of Lies is at the epicentre of Ridley Scott's comfort zone as an action adventure with political overtones as well as some intimate human insights
10/04/08
Top CriticLeonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe fire up Ridley Scott's terrific political thriller, which might finally drag audiences to a flick about the War On Terror.
10/08/08
Top CriticThe complex plot is rendered with clarity and precision, the action scenes are very well staged, the suspense is palpable, and the performances are first-rate.
10/10/08
Top CriticBody of Lies may not tell us anything we didn't already know about the way the US does business in the Middle East, but it's compelling nonetheless.
10/17/08
Top CriticBy the end, Body Of Lies is revealed as just another big-budget movie designed to cash in on the real-enough Middle East conflicts. It's a gangster movie without cops and criminals.
10/10/08
Top CriticDespite the dog-eared set-ups and situations, Body of Lies also has a lot going for it.
10/10/08
Top CriticA respectable second-rank thriller -- intelligent but muddled, action-packed but thoughtful.
10/17/08
Top CriticDiCaprio works hard while Crowe does chores at home and eats.
10/07/08
Bloated and far-fetched, it's filled with two-and-half-hours of meandering meaninglessness.
10/11/08
Collaborating with a director who doesn’t give a damn, DiCaprio and Crowe have made a political action flick totally without emotional impact.
10/08/08
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.
10/06/08
Top CriticAfter Ridley's less-than-stellar stretch including Matchstick Men, Kingdom of Heaven, A Good Year and American Gangster, expectations are medium at best and Body of Lies does nothing to raise them.
10/09/08
Isn't it time someone did a serious cost-benefit analysis on the filmmaking partnership of Russell Crowe and director Ridley Scott?
10/09/08
I lost interest in this movie somewhere between the donkey crossing the road in Jordan and the donkey crossing the road in Syria.
10/14/08
There always seems to be a gunfight, torture, or fireball explosion to keep you mindlessly entertained.
10/16/08
DiCaprio (not Crowe) is in top form in Scott's fast-moving, visually vivid but dramatically uninvolving noirish geopolitical thriller that despite problems conveys the point that in the new war on terrorism information, not weaponry, is the key variable.
10/03/08
Neither the location-based verisimilitude of Ridley Scott's shooting style nor the estimable Middle East expertise of source-material author David Ignatius can disguise Body of Lies as anything other than the contrived phony-baloney it is.
10/03/08
Top CriticLatest News for Body of Lies
February 16, 2009:
RT on DVD: High School Musical 3 or Midnight Meat Train?
It's a good week for mediocre films (Body of Lies, Changeling, Quarantine and Flash of Genius, which all walk a fine line between Fresh and Rotten) and an even better one if... More...
February 15, 2009:
The macho swagger of these US espionage interlopers around the planet has all the finesse of a wrestling ring, while imperialism is made to come off as really sexy. Body Of Lies: An Amman Gangster. 
More...
February 08, 2009:
The macho swagger of these US espionage interlopers around the planet has all the finesse of a wrestling ring, while imperialism is made to come off as really sexy. Body Of Lies: An Amman Gangster.
More...
November 21, 2008:
UK Critics Consensus: Does Ridley Scott’s Body Of Lies Ring True? Is Blindness Blinding Or Bland?
It's a varied pick of films in the UK cinemas this week; we have Sir Ridley Scott's latest collaboration with Russell Crowe, the CIA thriller, Body Of Lies. Julianne Moore and... More...
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