Body of Lies, 2008

I was pleasantly surprised by DiCaprio; he is definitely maturing as an actor. For some reason I almost felt this film was flirting with Jason Bourne or Enemy of the State, maybe even a little of Cruise in Mission Impossible; CIA types playing games with their pawns. DiCaprio brings a strong sense of American overconfidence melding into his environment like a neon green jacket in a rain forest.

Russel Crowe, on the other hand, was the other extreme. Maybe his role was scripted poorly, or perhaps he was over-pompous. I did not like how he talked via phone-in-the-ear to his operatives everywhere he went - and here the American spy agency is tracking cell phone calls of people on the other side of the planet. Crowe's Ed Hoffman was too much of a dunce to be a jerk.

Another strange thing is that I expected more plot twists. With a title like "Body of Lies" and a movie about spy games, I didn't get much double-crossing or sleight of hands going on. However, I did thoroughly enjoy Mark Strong's Hani character, including his delightful sharp wit and no-nonsense approach - yes, even his manipulations of the political machine and his own pawns. In fact, I think that made the setting in Jordan all the more delicious, one-upping the US government at their own game.