I like watching movies uninterrupted. no breaks every 15 minutes, no phones ringing, no kids crying …. Which pretty much rules out watching movies on TV or even at the multiplex. At one point in time I had a huge VHS collection – now I tend to buy DVD’s where i can, or watch it as a DIVX.
I acquired a Body of Lies sometime last year. I have always liked the work of Ridley Scott – and consider Blade Runner amongst my favorite films of all times.
Body of Lies is Ridley Scott’s adaptation of a novel by David Ignatius.The story is about the CIA’s war on terrorism – and how the lines get blurred between them and those they fight.
Di Caprio plays Roger Ferris a ground level operator – who hops across the Middle East trying to keep the world safe ! Russel Crowe plays his CIA controller Ed Hoffman – flabby, and with a God Complex – who pulls his strings like a puppeteer.
The one role that stood out was that of the Jordanian Intelligence Chief Hani – played by Mark Strong. He is alone worth the 2 odd hours you spend on the film.
If you suspend belief – which you must since this is a film – the film is plausible. The film contains the kitchen sink – Gizmos, satellite technology that can read a coke label from the skies, A Hero who can flit from country to country and take over spy operations, who speaks the language like a native, who along with one guy on a computer manages to create a terrorist organisation by him self, and a nice nurse whom he falls for – and for whose safety he hands himself over to the bad guys to face torture and possibly death. It makes you ask ek admi desh ke liye kya kya karega 🙂
In a way it was a nice Sunny Deol role for Di Caprio – the only thing missing was dancing in the desert.
Di Caprio is earnest as Roger Ferris – almost believable in what’s a Bond role without the suspension of disbelief. Crowe – his controller, and someone Di Caprio is in conversation all the time – has a seriously funny track. He controls intelligence while playing dad – in between taking his kids to the loo, football matches, dropping them off at school and the like. If intelligence is controlled this way – no wonder the US is losing the war on terror 🙂
This by no means was a bad film, but it is not something i will remember even next week !
I watched this movie …last year the day it released. Was disappointed. Not with the way the movie was made but the basic storyline. I felt the romance was unnecessary. Every war story/movie does not need to have a love story embedded in it … me thinks. Hurt Locker is an example. Leonardo was pretty convincing within the limitations of acting skills that was required of that role. Like you, not going to remember much about the movie. Good read.
Ridley Scott films are usually technically well made.
but, something has gone wrong with the story telling in his last few outings.
i agree with the romantic angle – where did that come from ….
and ayesha is an odd Iranian — they usually are so much fairer … she looked more like a south South Asian, dusky and beautiful 🙂
Yep … she was a treat to the eye. But then when you pay $8 for a Scott movie in the theatre… you would want some good story and better work of art. Not just another war movie/love story/action/suspense. I would rate it a 3 out of 10.
true.
but i have found his last few outings disappointing – in fact everything post Gladiator … and i suspect i liked that because Crowe was drool worthy 🙂
Well it is sort of a good review …
though im no fan of scott movies, and bcause i liked american gangster, im sort of allured to watch it , but in general i loathe macho type us movies including their cia/spy movies which show them in glorious light, far away from basic realism.
I saw the ending on HBO, the other day…yup, it wasn’t something which would make me want to see the full movie 🙂