BODY OF LIES **½

Directed by Ridley Scott this action/thriller stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Mark Strong, and Golshifteh Farahani. Rated R for strong violence including some torture, and for language throughout, it is two hours and thirty-five minutes long.

The best man U.S. Intelligence has on the ground (DiCaprio) is on the trail of an emerging terrorist, aided by his Washington D.C. based handler (Crowe), who has orchestrated a campaign of bombings while eluding the most sophisticated intelligence network in the world. To lure the terrorist out into the open, he will have to penetrate his murky world, hopefully aided by the head of the Jordanian Secret Service (Strong). Adding to his turmoil, he is attracted to a young nurse (Farahani). Based on Washington Post columnist David Ignatius's 2007 novel.

Technically, Scott has directed an impressively orchestrated version of the Mid-East turmoil our government finds itself involved in. But, while it has an impressive plot and plenty of action, the two main characters are not particularly likeable, so I wasn't that involved in their lives and didn't care what happened to them. Strong is good as the cold, cynical spy master and Farahani adds welcome if brief romantic relief amidst the carnage.The pace is such that this reasonably lengthy film sped by fairly quickly and did hold my attention. But it's not someplace I have any desire to visit again. A large screen and good sound will add to your appreciation of this film.