Body of Lies (Widescreen Edition)
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Actor: Alon Aboutboul, Giannina Facio, Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Vince ColosimoBrand: Warner Brothers
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 128 minutes
Published: 2009-02-01
DVD Release Date: 2009-02-17
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product features:
- 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 disc
DVD Reviews of Body of Lies (Widescreen Edition)
DVD Review: CIA made to look bad again in this mildly interesting spy thriller
Summary: 2 Stars
Body of Lies is a story about a CIA operative played by Leonard Dicarprio and his boss, Ed Hoffman, played by Russell Crowe. Crowe gained about 40 lbs to play the middle-aged supervisor Hoffman who spends a good deal of time on a cellphone from CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia talking with Dicaprio's Roger Ferris who shuttles around the Mideast, principally in Iraq and Amman, Jordan. Ridley Scott, the director, makes use of pinpoint satellite images throughout the movie, suggesting that the CIA has the ability to spy on various targets closeup through the use of overhead drones. It's very cool looking but can they actually do that? I wonder.
Body of Lies is divided into three sequences, the first taking place in Iraq where Ferris attempts to make contact with an Iraqi who may or may not have information about Al Qaeda. The informant's cover is blown and Ferris is forced to shoot him to prevent the informant from being tortured and revealing Ferris's identity. The first sequence ends in an exciting shootout with militants in a rural area where Ferris obtains information regarding a safe house in Amman, Jordan.
The second sequence involves Ferris taking over CIA operations in Jordan. He meets with the Jordanian intelligence chief, Hani Salaam, played by the British actor, Mark Srong. Hani is depicted as urbane, highly competent and ruthless. He denies 'torturing' informants and when Ferris is brought in and observes them beating one of their own agents who hasn't followed orders, Hani tells Ferris that the operative is merely being "punished" not "tortured". Where Hani is smooth and calculating, Ferris's boss, Hoffman, the CIA chief, is depicted as impulsive and arrogant. He demands that Hani allow him to interrogate a contact, Karami, at the safe house who is already known to Jordanian intelligence. Hani adopts a patient approach and is content to leave Karami at the safe house and pry him later for intelligence.
After a terrorist bombing in Amsterdam, Hoffman feels compelled to get "results". Without telling Ferris, he orders some of his operatives to tail Karami. Somehow Karami's cover isn't blown but it's enough for the militants at the safe house to set it on fire and flee for parts unknown. Hani is angry at Ferris who denies knowing anything about what happened and is ordered out of Jordan.
The third sequence is the most implausible and weakest part of the movie. Hoffman and Ferris meet and Ferris comes up with an absurd plan to capture the terrorist they've been after, Al-Saleem. Inexplicably, Ferris, who has been opposed to Hoffman's amoral and impulsive methods, outdoes Hoffman when he suggests that they invent a terrorist to make Al-Saleem jealous. With the aid of a computer geek employed by the CIA, Ferris focuses on Omar Sadiki, a hapless Jordanian architect who is set up to be the next Bin Laden. Incredibly, they're able to convince Turkish officials to desecrate corpses obtained from a local morgue and use them as part of a plot to simulate a terrorist attack on an US Military facility. Meanwhile, Ferris has a change of heart and finally realizes that Sadiki is at risk to be killed by terrorists. After the simulated terrorist attack, the plot goes awry and Sadiki is killed by terrorists when they realize he's a harmless dupe.
I haven't mentioned that there is a romantic subplot in this movie. Ferris falls for an Iranian nurse, Aisha, after she treats him at a local clinic for dog bites. At the climax, she disappears and appears to be kidnapped. Ferris meets with the kidnappers who turn out to be Al-Saleem and his henchmen. As it turns out, the noble Hani was the one who grabbed Aisha all along and used Ferris so he could lead him to Al-Saleem. In a harrowing scene, Ferris is almost beheaded by Al-Saleem's goons but in pure Hollywood style, Hani and his agents burst in and prevent Ferris from being killed. Al-Saleem is also taken into custody.
In reading some postings on the internet, some residents of Jordan feel that 'Body of Lies' maligns their dear country. This I can't understand; true, not all the scenes depict the natural beauty of Jordan but hey this is a movie about terrorism and not a travelogue. What's more, Hani, is the real hero here--intelligent, smooth and cool-headed (one who 'punishes' and doesn't 'torture'). Unfortunately, the CIA once again gets short shrift. Just like in 'Traitor' and The Bourne series, the CIA are either bumbling idiots or Machiavellian schemers (or both).
Body of Lies has some nice cinematography and its greatest asset is the depiction of the Al Qaeda wannabe, Al-Saleem. He looks and sounds like the real thing and Ridley Scott correctly doesn't sugarcoat his terrorists. DiCaprio has a nice speech condemning Al-Saleem and his minions right before he's about to be beheaded.
Despite this, Body of Lies errs in sugarcoating the Jordanian intelligence service at the expense of the CIA. Are they so much better than the CIA in real life? I think they're built up in order to shoot the CIA down and it doesn't ring true. Furthermore, Body of Lies features the ugly suggestion that the CIA would take an innocent man and set him up to be killed by terrorists. Of course if you're a conspiracy theorist, then you'll believe the CIA is capable of anything. Body of Lies is a mildly interesting spy thriller. It's worth viewing once but due to its implausible moments and somewhat anti-American bent, I wouldn't watch it again.
Description of Body of Lies (Widescreen Edition)
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