Mensonges d'état

I have really liked Leonardo DiCaprio's films since he came back from his hiatus (esp Blood Diamond). However, this one was quite forgettable. I enjoyed the movie when I was in the theater and left thinking "Huh. That was pretty good". But the week after someone asked what movie I saw and I couldn't remember. It reminded me a lot of "The Kingdom" actually (the feel, not the details). It was a very well made film, dialog and script were good, just nothing really stood out and grabbed me. Leo was the shine, he is such a talented actor and I was happy to see him in a great role. I just wish the plot had something fantastic in it to make it into a great film.

A taut and engaging Middle Eastern thriller from Ridley Scott, who handles the political motivations just as well as the frenetic action scenes. BODY OF LIES is a modern-day counterpart to Scott's Crusader epic KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, revealing how the war between the East and West is nowadays fought through terror attacks and sinister subversion rather than all-out battles.

DiCaprio continues to develop as one of the most interesting actors of our age while Russell Crowe is cast against type as a shifty CIA controller. Although the on-the-ground operations, bombings and betrayals are as exciting as you'd expect, the film's real strength lies in the back story: namely, America's interference in cultures it doesn't fully understand or get to grips with. Add in another dignified performance from Mark Strong and you have a winning combination for a movie.

I watched "Body of Lies" the other night for the first time since having seen it in the theater. This is a well made film that just barely misses the mark of being outstanding.

Russell Crowe is good in this movie, and it's arguably one of the few Crowe movies in which he transforms into his character rather than simply playing himself. DiCaprio is good enough, though he definitely suffers from his ongoing inability to play a character rather than being stuck in his same old mannerisms.

The plot of this movie is quite intriguing. It's a film that revolves around post-9/11 terrorism in the mid-east, with most of the movie taking place in the very places that make the news the most some eight years later: Iraq, Syria, and Jordan. Sadly, the movie predicts the spread of terrorism to Europe (it was filmed after the 7/7 bus bombings in London, and references them, but shows an attack in Amsterdam that brings to mind recent attacks in Paris and Brussels). Its fictional drama mixed with real world terrorism makes for a compelling story.

Unfortunately there's just something about the movie that makes it obvious that it misses the mark just a tad. It might be argued that the studio was trying a bit too hard to make an Oscar worthy picture, but didn't quite pull things together enough. The romantic element of the film feels a bit forced, and despite its strengths it comes across as being a bit more like a made-for-TV drama series than an award worthy feature film.

All in all I'm going with 6/10 stars. It's certainly worth the time to see, but ultimately a good popcorn flick rather than a more substantive film.

The film deals about a young spy named Roger Ferris(Leonardo DiCaprio), a CIA operative serving in Jordan. He's working for CIA chief named Ed Hoffman(Russell Crowe). Ed is a very occupied man, as efficient boss as father of family. The super-powerful CIA uses technological-gizmo-surveillance satellites for people spying and hound terrorists relentlessly. Ferris schemes a plot to chase the mastermind terrorist named Al Saleem . In Jordan Roger forms a shaky alliance with Hani (Mark Strong),the boss of Jordanian Intelligence to break the terrorist ring which are bombing civilian targets .Ferris try to stop cruel terrorist who plans terrorist bombings by means an uncanny masquerade . Meanwhile Ferris falls in love with a Palestine nurse and aid-worker named Aisha(Farahani).

Story's core is interesting and script is dense with information and drama. The ultra-brisk editing and rapid scenes movement leaves little time to consider some inadequacies. The picture is a crossover from 'the Siege'(98,Edward Zwick with Denzel Washington,Tony Shalhoub) about the dangerous terrorism Arab; 'Enemy of state' (1998, Tony Scott with Will Smith, Gene Hackman) dealing the modern surveillance systems and 'Spy game'(2001,Tony Scott with Brad Pitt, Robert Redford)concerning the spy-world on Middle East. Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe sustain interest in this tale of technology run amok and terrorism. DiCaprio is good as tough super-spy and Crowe's cool displaying a sarcastic performance. The use of geopolitical messages to add weight to a romantic subplot between the spy and the Palestine nurse , though feels a little forced and ,at times, excessive. The film packs adequate,evocative cinematography by Alexander Witt and agreeable musical score with Arabs overtones. The motion picture is well realized by Ridley Scott who has a career plenty of hits, as American gangster,Kingdom of heaven,Black Hawk down, Hannibal,Gladiator... Rating : Above average, well worth watching.

I'm starting to get what and especially why people praised Leonardo Di Caprio so much. He really holds the movie together here. It's a great script story, but with his charismatic performance he really gives it the extra edge it needs.

Ridley Scott has chosen a very peculiar story for (t)his movie. But he really treats it with much respect. His visual sense and his story-telling mastery combined with a great cast and the aforementioned script make up for a very interesting, entertaining, but still very complex and sophisticated! It's not something you can watch in-between doing other things. You do have to pay attention to what is happening to follow the story/plot. And I liked that very much :o)