Leo! Scott! Russell! That’s got premeditated Oscar event written all over it, no? The international trailer for director Ridley Scott’s “Body of Lies” is out. He’s been kind of irking us these days making the same, near-3-hour epic Oscar-bait drama with A-list stars (Denzel, Crowe) over and over again (“American Gangster” was pretty disappointing and more of the same). The synop and trailer frankly, look like more of the same big, humorless dramas that appeal to old Academy voters (though not lately) and geek bloggers who kid themselves into thinking this is as good as drama gets. It’s a taut game of cat and mouse! It’s a potboiling thriller! God, how many times have we seen this from Scott? It’s basically about Two opposing CIA operatives with the same objectives, but different morals in Jordan:
Based on Washington Post columnist David Ignatius’ 2007 novel about a CIA operative, Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio), who uncovers a lead on a major terrorist leader suspected to be operating out of Jordan. When Ferris devises a plan to infiltrate his network, he must first win the backing of cunning CIA veteran Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe) and the collegial, but perhaps suspect, head of Jordanian intelligence. Although ostensibly his allies, Ferris questions how far he can really trust these men without putting his entire operation – and his life – on the line.
Scott told the Irish Independent, “It’s about Islam, where we are and where we’re not, and it’s a very interesting, proactive, internalised view of that whole subject.”
The film does also feature the excellent Dutch actress Carice van Houten who’s been getting a ton of American film work ever since her noticed turn in Paul Verhoven’s “Black Book,” in 2006 (“Valkyrie” is another) but other than that, meh and wake us when something interesting happens. The trailer feels a little Tony Scott too.