Review in a Hurry: Leonardo DiCaprio gets roughed up six ways to Sunday in a movie full of unpleasant subject matter like war and torture, and the flabby plot will leave moviegoers feeling a little worse for wear too.
The Bigger Picture: Earnest, whip-smart Roger Ferris (DiCaprio) and pompous Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe) clash mightily as CIA spooks, Roger dodging bullets on the ground, Ed ruling the roost in the comfort of his coastal manse. Things come to a head when they team up in the search for the Middle East's Next Top Terrorist, the mysterious Al-Saleem.
Helping out is the head of Jordan's secret police, Hani Salaam (Mark Strong). Unfortunately Ed's arrogant ways may ruin this delicate alliance, and that's the big annoyance with the film. Ed seems too intelligent to act so idiotic; his interference overextends the movie as he continually comes between Roger and Hani.
At two hours and interspersed with countless scenes of graphic violence, the movie as a whole is quite exhausting. Trim the fat and there's a lean, intriguing, say, 90-minute actioner with a conscience.
Body of Lies could also do without the silly accents—DiCaprio's Southern twang, mainly. First of all, he's no Meryl Streep when it comes to dialects, and second, even if it mattered storywise that the character was from the Deep South (which it doesn't), would he walk around the Middle East trying to infiltrate terrorist groups with a uniquely American twang? Not likely.
The 180—a Second Opinion: A reprieve from all the violence and infighting is the fledgling romance between Roger and Aisha (Golshifteh Farahani), a nurse he meets after a particularly bad dust-up. The relationship is engaging to watch—and highlights DiCaprio's talents as a leading man.