Body of Lies (2008)
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Reviews Counted:188
Fresh:96
Rotten:92
Average Rating:5.7/10
Consensus: Body of Lies relies on the performances of Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio to elevate it beyond the conventional espionage thriller.
Theatrical Release:21-11-2008
Synopsis: Leonardo DiCaprio fights terrorists for the CIA in this rapid-fire thriller from director Ridley Scott (GLADIATOR, BLACK HAWK DOWN). While Roger Ferris (DiCaprio) gets his hands dirty on the... [More]
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Mark Strong, Golshifteh Farahani
Director: Ridley Scott
Reviews for Body of Lies
| Tomatometer | Critic | Review | Category |
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 3/6 |
Perhaps Scott’s ever-restless shooting style doesn’t quite differentiate between the peaks and troughs of the narrative, yet it’s still an engrossing account of the intersection between process and ethics. Full Review |
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3/5 |
Like Syriana without either the balls or the brains, Body Of Lies is perfectly presentable. You just expect better from the likes of Leo, Russ and Ridley. Full Review |
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2/5 |
But despite the immaculate production values, the satire is so unspeakably crude that it ceases to matter. A shame. Scott has been an instrumental director in the Hollywood evolution of war films. But Body of Lies is a one-note rant. Full Review |
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 2/5 |
Body of Lies is big and bombastic, confused and irritable - a 20th-century blockbuster struggling to adapt (too little, too late) to a 21st-century terrain. Full Review |
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2/5 |
Scott, at heart, is a pyrotechnician rather than a political philosopher. Sometimes, during the scenes when he shows graphic acts of torture, he seems like a two-penny shock merchant, too. Full Review |
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3/5 |
With high-class acts to match the hi-tech savvy of Scott and his trusty crew (cinematographer Alexander Witt, editor Pietro Scalia, composer Mark Streitenfeld), this is as taut and engrossing a couple of hours as you’ll experience all year. Full Review |
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3/5 |
Syriana, this ain’t. Ridley Scott’s latest misses the scope, texture or depth to dig into the moral mess of the war on terror. But this entertaining techno-thriller feeds greedily off star performances from Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Strong. Full Review |
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4/5 |
Body Of Lies lacks the epic sweep of Gladiator and the emotional pull of Thelma And Louise. But it's enormously competent, with a couple of fine supporting performances from Crowe and Strong. Full Review |
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2/5 |
If the starry but soulless crime flick American Gangster wasn’t enough to convince you Ridley Scott was a man past his prime, check out Body Of Lies – a starry but soulless terrorism movie. Full Review |
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2/5 |
For all the enthralling visuals and action, the film feels garbled. Full Review |
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Visually the film is so undistinguished it may be time for the maker of Blade Runner to be subjected to that film’s Voigt-Kampff test, to determine whether the current owner of the name “Ridley Scott” is real or a replicant. Full Review |
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1/5 |
But it's something of a penance to sit through, a token handwringing over American dirty tricks that's just another opportunity for Scott and co to blow stuff up. Full Review |
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3/5 |
Body of Lies can’t quite make up its mind whether to be an all-out thriller or a savvy political drama with something relevant to say about Muslim fundamentalism and the American response to it. Full Review |
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3/5 |
While this film's themes seem to address issues of terrorism and CIA meddling, and the powerful cast suggests we're in Important Movie territory, the result is essentially just a routine spy thriller: entertaining but forgettable. Full Review |
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2/5 |
Over-directed, frequently dull and ultimately disappointing thriller that wastes the talents of its two leads and strands them with a tedious script that somehow manages to be both confusing and overly simplistic. Full Review |
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4/10 |
Ridley Scott does not reflect on causes, only on operations. Body Of Lies may engage the warrior techno-geeks, but its amorality is uninvolving. Full Review |
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More gripping to watch in the moment than enjoyable to recall at its end. Full Review |
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3/4 |
Visually, the film is quite striking. Few modern filmmakers handle desert landscapes as well as Mr. Scott. Full Review |
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Short on thrills and shorter on political insights Full Review |
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5/10 |
A certain rawness and despairing urgency is never quite achieved for the message the film wants to deliver, and so it remains a well-intentioned, well-produced, yet generally unmemorable entertainment. Full Review |
CommentLatest News for Body of Lies
February 16, 2009:
RT on DVD: High School Musical 3 or Midnight Meat Train?
It's a good week for mediocre films (Body of Lies, Changeling, Quarantine and Flash of Genius, which all walk a fine line between Fresh and Rotten) and an even better one if... More...
February 15, 2009:
The macho swagger of these US espionage interlopers around the planet has all the finesse of a wrestling ring, while imperialism is made to come off as really sexy. Body Of Lies: An Amman Gangster. 
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February 08, 2009:
The macho swagger of these US espionage interlopers around the planet has all the finesse of a wrestling ring, while imperialism is made to come off as really sexy. Body Of Lies: An Amman Gangster.
More...
November 21, 2008:
UK Critics Consensus: Does Ridley Scott’s Body Of Lies Ring True? Is Blindness Blinding Or Bland?
It's a varied pick of films in the UK cinemas this week; we have Sir Ridley Scott's latest collaboration with Russell Crowe, the CIA thriller, Body Of Lies. Julianne Moore and... More...
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