"B" Rating by Robert W. Hammerle

Though the subject matter has proven to be box office poison to date, "Body of Lies" is without question an intelligent, suspenseful thriller by a master craftsman. Extraordinarily relevant to our country's so-called War on Terror, Ridley Scott has confirmed his place as one of the most consistently accomplished director's working today.

Furthermore, when you add into the mix two consummate professionals playing the principal leading roles, namely Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio, you are left with a movie legitimizing the sharp-worn phrase "a must see film." "Body of Lies" is why people like me value going to the movies.

Crowe and DiCaprio don't just play roles, they inhabit them. In this instance, Crowe is an overweight top dog in the CIA directing America's amoral war against amoral enemies. Though Crowe will occasionally venture from Washington in order to visit various Middle Eastern hotspots, most of his scenes find him talking into a headset while he simultaneously is involved in domestic duties, such as watching his daughter play soccer. He is as amusing as he is startlingly chilling in these scenes where he interrupts a conversation with his child as he authorizes someone's execution.

DiCaprio is, once again, simply brilliant. A frequently exasperated, hands-on CIA field operative, he is the lethal puppet to Crowe's puppet master.

DiCaprio is mesmerizing as a morally conflicted agent whose life on the ground is consistently on the line. Quite frankly, I can't remember a movie where a leading actor has had so much violence inflicted on him. He is literally beaten, shot, blown-up and attacked by rabid dogs. His body becomes a vivid metaphor on what this continual, unending war is doing to our national soul.

There are some other remarkable performances in "Body." Most notably is that of Mark Strong as Hani Salaam, the head of the Jordanian Secret Service. An ally of the United States that DiCaprio befriends, neither of them trusts the other. They both recognize that there is but one goal to be served in this madness, and that is to find and kill the global terrorists before they kill someone else. Anything and everything is fair game in that pursuit, and everyone is expendable if need be.

As an example, Ali Suliman gives a moving performance as Omar Sadiki, an innocent contractor who meets a cruel fate while being setup by DiCaprio for his own larger purposes. Who has time to morn the victims of friendly fire?

In addition, Alon Abutbul is quite effective as Al-Saleem, a master terrorist who is the leader of a particularly effective terrorist's cell. He is, as expected, quite ruthless in his violent designs. Ironically, he is not that much different from Mr. Crowe's CIA agent. Which one is really less or more humane than the other?

Additionally, this movie forces the audience to confront vital issues facing our country today. In particular, there is a scene where DiCaprio is captured and tortured. Facing a horrifying death, Al-Saleem looks at him and laconically says, "Welcome to Guantanomo." I didn't miss the significance of that reference, and I don't think many in the theater did either.

Simply put, while Scott's fine film calls out the terrorists for their twisted interpretation of the Koran, a book that ironically decries the slaying of innocents, he also forces Americans to confront our own barbarism as reflected by Guantanomo Bay. Everyone has blood on their hands in this ongoing conflict, and no one can lay exclusive clam to the moral high ground.

As I alluded to earlier, given its subject matter, I doubt that "Body of Lies" will be a box office hit. That is unfortunate, as this is a significant movie where great movie stars enhance a film's quality. It is also quite entertaining, and is there really much higher praise?