Despite the fake-sounding genericism of its title, Body of Lies is actually a fairly entertaining film. I generally tend to shy away from Russell Crowe films (does anyone else find him too serious?) but even he didn't weigh the picture down and indeed turned in a somewhat light portrayal of a bureaucrat playing war games at a distance. Leonardo DiCaprio (happy birthday!) also did a fine job as the Middle East-living on the edge agent. The film on the whole, despite its attempt to be politically minded, is much more of a thriller/action film than a Syriana-type commentary which I think works in its favor. No new news on Middle East affairs (which gives me a headache) but fun cat and mouse games (yay)!
The true star of the show though is Mark Strong, a British actor who is also currently starring in RocknRolla (another fine performance). As the Jordanian Intelligence Minister, he hits just the right combination of sinister and stylish which makes his character the most interesting and fun to watch. According to imdb.com, he's got a few more films on the horizon, including Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes (Mark Strong, Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr. oh my!) and Matthew Vaughn's Kick-Ass (featuring fabulous casting work from my friend Zoe), so let's hope the Mark Strong fun keeps rolling!
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