'Body of Lies' Review

Based upon the novel of the same name by David Ignatius, Body of lies is the latest action/thriller from legendary director Ridley Scott that is sure to get the heart pumping. The plot revolves around Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio), a CIA agent whose mission it is to track down known terrorist leader Al-Saleem (Alon Aboutboul). In order to catch them Ferris along with fellow agent Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe) come up with an elaborate hoax to expose Saleem by setting up architect Omar Sadiki (Ali Suliman) as the head of a fictional terrorist group. However when Ferriss’ Iranian Girlfreind Aisha (Golshifeth Farahani) is captured by Al-Saleem Ferris races after him to rescue her.
Director Ridley Scott delivers as usual here. The cinematography is stunning and makes you feel as if you are right in the middle of the action. However Scott has ensured the plot has not taken a back seat to the action. He has also allowed his actors the opportunity to develop their characters, which makes the film so much more enjoyable.
DeCaprio and Crowe deliver outstanding performances as always. Both put in one of their best performances here. While the largely Iranian support cast is also fantastic. All have taken the opportunity to develop their characters fully and are all totally believable.
The film provides a thrilling portrayal of the harsh realities of war, middle eastern life, terroism, love and government conspiracies. Above all the main message of the film seems to be how fickle life is; ‘our world is alot easier to put to an end than you might think'. The inclusion of new Guns n’ Roses track ‘If the World’ suits this theme well. Its beautiful flamenco guitar intro has a very Middle Eastern feel to it and the lyrics ‘if the world would end and all love slipped away’ are a perfect fit for this film.
Body of lies is a thrilling ride that is sure to entertain and it is probably one of the best book to film adaptations you will ever find.

8.5/10