Do we need another spy-action movie in which Americans try to solve
some problem or other in a far-off, terrorist-infested land, and end up
learning, after a series of shoot-outs, red herrings, and high-tech
shenanigans, that the world is a complicated place resistant to quick,
muscle-flexing fixes? Probably not, especially after Lions for
Lambs, Rendition, Redacted, and Syriana have
all recently trod similar ground.
But do we want to see Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe try their
hand at the genre? Sure. Why not? If one allows that a spy-action movie
doesn’t necessarily have to deliver a new political or cultural
critique to do its most basic job, then Body of Lies can be a
satisfying, gratifying distraction. DiCaprio is certainly good enough
as a culturally sensitive and heart-strong CIA agent to hold the
audience’s attention. And Crowe, who plays his boss at Langley, makes
for a champion schlump and a winningly ugly American.
The plot will probably give déjà vu to certain movie
junkies. There’s this brilliant and fearsome CIA agent, see, and then
there’s a terrorist that said CIA agent’s boss wants to catch, and then
there’s a safe house in Iraq that needs to be raided, and then one in
Jordan that needs to be infiltrated, and there’s also a sneaky
double-crossing plot (or two) to be hatched, and a lot of desert chase
scenes to be flashed on screen, and finally—well, it’s hardly a
spoiler to tell you that, finally, it becomes clear that the world is a
complicated place resistant to quick, muscle-flexing fixes.
But if you’re not worried about plot déjà vu or stale
themes, and are into spy-action movies mainly for the spy-action
itself, then Body of Lies is just perfect. People
die—mercilessly, surprisingly, repeatedly. Friends betray
friends. Helicopters swoop in to blow up SUVs holding jihadists
wielding RPG launchers. Vans roll through crowded Arab markets trying
to snatch up wanted types without attracting notice. And through it
all, the unblinking eye of the CIA drone hovers over the
action—the view from on high, repeatedly laid low by the
complexities of life on the ground. 
