By Fred Topel | Image property of Warner Bros. Pictures
Body of Lies
Body of Lies is the best espionage movie of the modern war. It's American Gangster for the war on terror. That Ridley Scott guy, he directs things pretty good.
Movie Review: Body of Lies
The film makes every element of the espionage clear. I normally can't follow these things but I understood how the satellites worked, what the objectives of each meeting were, who reported to whom…
They even explain the philosophy of this war. Now if a bunch of filmmakers can have Russell Crowe talk about people from the past fighting people from the future, can't the government hire them to advise them. I mean, I like this movie and all but I'd rather have them handling the real thing.
The casual coping mechanisms for dealing in this world are fascinating. Buddies agree to shoot each other lest they be captured. They promise things they have no intention of delivering. That's the cold hard reality. They just lie and kill their own people
The action is intense. The tactical stuff conveys how hard it is and what's at stake, and it's big action too. Suicide bombers ignite up close so you see onscreen incineration. It's important to remember how horrific this stuff is. Even a foot chase and fight has ghastly details that raise the bar.
The characters are fascinating with the field agent schooling his naïve superiors and the guy in charge appearing distracted the entire time. Russell Crowe spends the whole movie talking on a headset, sort of involved with other activities, but not focused on either. He's always in the middle of something else, which is part of the problem.
I'm just amazed I understood this movie. Spy Game, no. Sum of All Fears, no. That's the real fete of Body of Lies.
Body of Lies
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