Body of Lies

Name: Body of Lies
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
Released: October 10, 2008
Duration: 128 min
Rating: 57
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Strong, Russell Crowe

2008

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 37 Critics

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 179 Ratings

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7.1	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 179 Ratings

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BODY OF LIES

Movie Details & Credits

Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: October 10, 2008

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Strong, Russell Crowe

Summary: Roger Ferris is the best man U.S. Intelligence has on the ground, in places where human life is worth no more than the information it can get you. In operations that take him around the globe, Ferris' next breath often depends on the voice at the other end of a secure phone line--CIA veteran Ed Hoffman. Strategizing from a laptop in theRoger Ferris is the best man U.S. Intelligence has on the ground, in places where human life is worth no more than the information it can get you. In operations that take him around the globe, Ferris' next breath often depends on the voice at the other end of a secure phone line--CIA veteran Ed Hoffman. Strategizing from a laptop in the suburbs, Hoffman is on the trail of an emerging terrorist leader who has orchestrated a campaign of bombings while eluding the most sophisticated intelligence network in the world. To lure the terrorist out into the open, Ferris will have to penetrate his murky world, but the closer Ferris gets to the target, the more he discovers that trust is both a dangerous commodity and the only one that will get him out alive. (Warner Bros.)… Expand

Director: Ridley Scott

Genre(s): Action, Drama, Thriller

Rating: R

Runtime: 128 min

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Awards & Rankings

88	#88 Most Discussed Movie of 2008
65	#65 Most Shared Movie of 2008

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

ReelViews - James Berardinelli

Body of Lies neither panders nor condescends. It involves current events and has a political viewpoint, but it overplays neither. Read full review

Baltimore Sun - Michael Sragow

Leonardo DiCaprio brings straight-razor reflexes and rooted emotion to the role of a deceptively rugged CIA man. Read full review

Rolling Stone - Peter Travers

The result is commendably non-West-centric, but no less sentimentally conceived. Read full review

Charlotte Observer - Lawrence Toppman

The romance seems tacked on as a way to humanize this character; there's no reason the nurse would take up with a brash, secretive American. Read full review

Variety - Todd McCarthy

A mostly formulaic approach that becomes more disappointing as the yarn unwinds. Read full review

Chicago Reader - J.R. Jones

Like Scott's last picture, "American Gangster," this is a little too slick and commanding for its own good; despite Crowe and DiCaprio's best efforts, their characters keep getting flattened by the steamroller narrative. Read full review

Entertainment Weekly - Owen Gleiberman

Most of this just seems, you know, so three years ago, so "Bourne" again. Read full review

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User Reviews

TonyM

Mar 8, 2009

Another masterpiece from Ridley Scott. Small problem in the plot which had me rocking in my seat- Those UAV's have Infrared. The U.S. could have seen the exchange of Ferris.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

Enrique

Oct 11, 2008

An intelligent, very well crafted political thriller. It will obviously have many detractors, at it would be expected. Crowell and DiCaprio are both at their best. Great cinematography, excellent supporting cast.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

JessD.

Nov 20, 2008

I liked this film a lot. Leo and Russell were excellent but the actor who stole the film is Mark Strong. He was exceptional. Worth a look and surely the performances should be considered and cited for awards at year end. Take a chance. You might be surprised at how good it is.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

VinceH.

Feb 22, 2009

I agree with Jess D.'s review...Mark Strong really stole this film and regardless of awards or any of that, very few reviewers even mentioned him. Anyways, as you can see from the user reviews, this film is not nearly as bad as the critics made it out to be. This is easily Ridley I agree with Jess D.'s review...Mark Strong really stole this film and regardless of awards or any of that, very few reviewers even mentioned him. Anyways, as you can see from the user reviews, this film is not nearly as bad as the critics made it out to be. This is easily Ridley Scott's best film since "Black Hawk Down".… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

Wulfas

Jan 19, 2016

I'm gonna divide this review into 5 parts: Directing, Cinematography,Writing,Score and finally Acting.
Directing - I though that directing in this movie was quite alright. But the actors in my opinion didn't seem to be on the same page, so over acted while other didn't deliver. But havingI'm gonna divide this review into 5 parts: Directing, Cinematography,Writing,Score and finally Acting.
Directing - I though that directing in this movie was quite alright. But the actors in my opinion didn't seem to be on the same page, so over acted while other didn't deliver. But having said that you could definitely feel Scott's vibe during the whole movie. In some episodes it even reminded me something out of "Black Hawk down", maybe there is something special about Ridley Scott and the desert scenery. I would rate it 12/20
Cinematography - I was really impressed with the cinematography of the movie, even though the movie wasn't all this great. But the locations looked really authentic and nice through out the movie. The whole movie had a dawn or even evening feeling. I would rate it 15/20
Writing - The script in my opinion was the worst part of the movie. Even with this great cast the movie wasn't able to be intriguing or unpredictable. Having said that, the whole movie felt either rushed or dragged at the times. The plot felt short, even watching it in 2015-2016 were thing portrayed in the movie are happening right now. I would rate it 8/20
Score - The score seemed very generic for an action movie. However i was watching this movie without surround system at home, but my impression was that the sound effects and soundtrack as whole might felt good in a movie theater. I would rate it 13/20
Acting - Two of the leads Russel and Leo had very different roles and characters, yet one in my opinion was quite miserable and the other was decent enough. Crow either had a really bad role or it was bad casting choice, because he didn't seemed to fit the role. This was because of his bad accent or either because he didn't have any memorable lines. Leo on the other hand did quite decent job for the movie, towards the end. I also could not say, that actors had a really good chemistry especially the female actresses didn't seem to fit with Leo's character and the idea for Roger Ferris to speak so much Arabic doesn't seem to go well with the movie. I would rate it 11/20
Now the MVP of the movie was Mark Strong who in my opinion had a really nice character who seemed to fit in the movie really well. Strong's delivery was very strong and could feel his chemistry with Leo in the scenes.
In Total i would rate this movie - 59/100. This movie is decent for one time sitting.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

pgmark

Dec 16, 2010

Russel Crowe - love the character change yet again. I liked the acting by the Jordan head of Intelligence .. Pasha whatever his name was - sorry. Leo is so so for me in action hero type of role. Good sets and effects.

Movie was good not great.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

EdT.

Feb 28, 2009

Boring 'cellphone' pic. Wholly unoriginal and entirely unbelievable at the same time.

0 of 2 users found this helpful

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