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:37
Fresh:19
Rotten:18
Average Rating:5.6/10
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 date; Australian critics are listed first)
Top CriticA respectable second-rank thriller -- intelligent but muddled, action-packed but thoughtful.
10/17/08
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 CriticDespite the dog-eared set-ups and situations, Body of Lies also has a lot going for it.
10/10/08
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 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 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 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 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 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 CriticBut despite the immaculate production values, the satire is so unspeakably crude that it ceases to matter. A shame. Scott has been an instrumental director in the Hollywood evolution of war films. But Body of Lies is a one-note rant.
11/21/08
Top CriticBody of Lies is big and bombastic, confused and irritable - a 20th-century blockbuster struggling to adapt (too little, too late) to a 21st-century terrain.
11/21/08
Top CriticFor all the enthralling visuals and action, the film feels garbled.
11/21/08
Top CriticIt's a study in semisimilitude, more Google-Earthly than grounded in feelings.
10/10/08
Top CriticThe plot occasionally becomes convoluted and murky, but when it trains its focus on matters of treachery and intrigue, Body of Lies is exciting and compelling.
10/10/08
Top CriticAs the film's episodic story gradually reveals itself, it ends up too unconvincing and conventional to consistently hold our attention.
10/10/08
Top CriticDirector Ridley Scott delivers a passable spy movie that has nothing to say about this region; he may as well have been directing from a monitor in his hotel suite.
10/10/08
Top CriticMr. 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.
10/10/08
Top CriticBody of Lies clicks along at an engaging pace, legibly limning its multitude of characters and even throwing in a good bit of wry humor.
10/09/08
Top CriticBody of Lies contains enough you can believe, or almost believe, that you wish so much of it weren't sensationally implausible.
10/09/08
Top Critic1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Latest 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. 
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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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