Fridae

Throughout his career, director Ridley Scott has had more hits (Blade Runner, Thelma and Louise, Gladiator, American Gangster) than misses ( Kingdom of Heaven, A Good Year). His new movie, Body of Lies, we're sad to say, is clearly a miss despite having a stellar cast which includes Leonardo DiCaprio and his favorite actor Russell Crowe.

The problem is not so much from the acting or the direction but the script. Adapted by William Monahan (The Departed) from a novel by David Ignatius, the script focuses too much on the action instead of the relationships and ends up being a mediocre spy thriller that offers nothing that we haven't seen before.

Leo DiCaprio - now moving unstoppably into serious adult roles despite sporting a still baby-ish face - plays a CIA agent who risks his life every day working undercover in Middle Eastern hotspots, surrounded by radical Islamic terrorists. His boss is Russell Crowe, a selfish and corrupt man based in the US who does not think twice about putting Leo in unnecessarily dangerous situations.

In Russell, Body of Lies essentially tries to portray the ugly American who doesn't care if the rest of the world burns - so long as he gets to drive his SUV and eat his double cheeseburger. It tries to make a statement on America's arrogance and self-centeredness and the price the rest of the world has had to pay because of it, just like the theme of the novel.

Yet despite its obvious ambition in being that Big Important Movie, Body of Lies does not make its case very well. The movie also fails to offer any fresh or proper insights into its purported themes and, as a result, feels somewhat lazy and meandering. All too often, director Ridley Scott seems happy to launch another big action sequence that may have little to do with the plot or character revelation. Also, there are subplots that feel irrelevant and unnecessary.

Coming on the heels of Ridley's vastly superior American Gangster, Body of Lies is certainly a big disappointment.