saw: body of lies
Body of Lies is distinguished not so much by what's onscreen as who's behind the scenes: Ridley Scott—no stranger to this terrain, having covered it both exceptionally (Black Hawk Down) and with qualifications (the sumptuous but narratively challenged Kingdom of Heaven). Lies doesn't straddle those efforts; it's more interested in bridging Syriana and the later Bourne movies. Its ultimate failure to do so, given its pedigree, is a sticking point. While Scott's participation ensures that the performers and locales are more specific and vivid than Hollywood's usual "over there" fare, the episodic and occasionally preachy screenplay could really just as easily have been rendered by the more bombastic Scott-eur, Tony, in generic "prestige" mode. The result is a serviceable but forgettable political thriller—although Mark Strong deserves notice for his sleek, imperious supporting turn as a Jordanian superspook whose charismatic scene-stealing presence only serves to underscore that the film is bent on following the wrong leads. Grade: B-