Edit page. Top Gap. See more gaps ». Create a list ». Political - religious. But Body of Lies does do one thing perfectly: give viewers a chance to see two fine actors go toe to toe. DiCaprio is intense, but his Titanic -like charms add much-needed levity when he comes a-courting at his beloved physician's home. And Crowe is arrogant but compelling in a role that has him dispensing murderous orders while at his child's soccer game buffet and swinging by school for a drop off.
Families can talk about the ongoing war on terror. How does this movie confirm or defy your expectations of what secret agents do? How accurate do you think it is? What messages is the movie trying to convey about espionage and terrorism?
Do you think it has a particular agenda? What makes this different from other thrillers? Families can also discuss Ferris and Hoffman's relationship. How would you characterize it? Knowing all he's done, does Ferris ever get pangs of guilt? What does that say about his character? Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
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Our ratings are based on child development best practices. We display the minimum age for which content is developmentally appropriate. The star rating reflects overall quality. Learn how we rate. Parents' Ultimate Guide to Support our work! Corona Column 3 Use these free activities to help kids explore our planet, learn about global challenges, think of solutions, and take action. Body of Lies. I can imagine a similar story as told by John Le Carre , even right down to the local beauty.
But Le Carre would never be guilty of such preposterous thriller-style action. Here we have a spy who doesn't come in from the cold, crossed with Jason Bourne.
The most intriguing aspect of Ferris' activities is his growing disillusionment with them. He feels one local comrade has been abandoned to face a certain death, and after he sets up an innocent architect to unwittingly play the head of the fictitious terrorist agency, he single-handedly tries to save his life from an inevitable attack. That Ferris survives this man's fate is highly unlikely.
And it leads to a situation where his own life is saved by the last-second arrival of the cavalry. The movie depends on two electronic wonderments.
One is the ability of Ferris to maintain instant, effortless, cell phone contact with Hoffman, back in Washington. Wearing one of those ear-mounted devices, he seems to keep up a running conversation with his boss, even during perilous situations his boss is often distracted by taking care of his kids.
The other wonderment is aerial surveillance so precise it can see a particular man walking down a street. The surveillance POV is so stable, it's hard to believe it originates from a fast-moving high-altitude spy plane.
In discussing Ridley Scott's superior " Black Hawk Down " , I questioned the infrared technology that allowed distant commanders to monitor troop movements on the ground. Many readers informed me that was based on fact. But it gets even worse here. Suspicious people accept information without question.
Secretive people talk to other people about their secrets. A hardened terrorist yields to the pressure of being bored in prison to There's nothing like an intelligent, well thought out spy novel with believable characters and credible situations. A hardened terrorist yields to the pressure of being bored in prison to and so spills all.
But the last straw for me was when the protagonist's estranged wife rapes him. If you like an intelligent spy novel, read Alan Furst. Don't waste your time or money here. View all 4 comments.
In order to forestall further Al-Qaeda attacks he develops an intricate scheme to pit the terrorists against each other by sowing seeds of suspicion that their leaders are collaborating with the Americans. Unable to succeed alone, he requires the full support of his boss Ed Hoffman and with the help of Hani Salaam the head of Jordan's intelligence service; Ferris sets in motion his body of lies The novel really delivers at every level a great story line of realism and great character development.
The writing is done with a journalistic flavour, more of an account seen though the eyes of a reporter, one with first hand experience. Although it is a fictional novel, it reads like fact. His exploration of the complexities of espionage combined with his portrayal of the intelligence community makes this a terrific read and a page-turner. It is a definite stimulation to one's own imagination.
View 1 comment. I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I enjoyed hearing about Ferris' time in Jordan. I felt like the best scenes were between Ferris and the Jordanian spy, Hani, and I also enjoyed the interplay between Roger and his boss Ed Hoffman. These three characters were interesting and compelling to watch, although all of them were a little two diamensional.
Where the book really fell down was introducing a love story between Ferris and an aid worker, Alice. He seems to fall in I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book. He seems to fall in love with her remarkably quickly, and from that moment it seems like his entire world revolves around her. He is meant to be a war hardened spy, not a lovesick teenager.
Overall three stars, but I could have stretched to 4 if the characterisations had been a bit better. View 2 comments. Mar 06, Joseph Sciuto rated it it was amazing. The purpose of the operation is to bring out into the open a master terrorist known only as "Suleiman.
Ignatius, a prized winning columnist for the Washington Post, is undeniable acquainted with the methods used by the CIA and his knowledge of the Middle East is extensive which makes this book all the more fascinating and definitely worth reading.
Fairly well done. Nov 01, Beth rated it it was ok. Rated 2. Not sure I got all the plot deists. The title of this book refers to a corpse that is dressed and made to appear to be an imaginary CIA officer with all the background paperwork to support that fiction.
This corpse is depositied in a foreign country to sell the fiction to terrorist organization that this CIA officer hs penetrated their organization. A trojan horse scenario. The problem is no one knows Suleiman. Roger works with George S The title of this book refers to a corpse that is dressed and made to appear to be an imaginary CIA officer with all the background paperwork to support that fiction.
Roger works with George Smiley head of Jordan's intelligence service, but can he fully trust George? This story is about capturing an elusive terrorist head with a ruse - the body of lies; but, it is more fully the story of international intelligence and the "body of lies' that is created to manipulate friends and foes to get what one man desires. It is a story of intrigue Very well-written with a twist that I, at least, did not see coming.
Well-paced, but as with almost all such stories, it suffers from being a bit juvenile in its characterizations over-simplifying people and their motives and a bit formulaic in its construction.
However, based on the reporter's background, it is definitely well-researched and quite a plausible plot. The technical writing and spycraft aspects of the novel are its strongest cards, much like the better Tom Clancy books pre-Op Center drivel.
I had already seen the film before picking up the boo Well-paced, but as with almost all such stories, it suffers from being a bit juvenile in its characterizations over-simplifying people and their motives and a bit formulaic in its construction.
It's worth picking up - there are minor plot holes, as with all such fiction, but overall it's an intelligent portrayal. Reminds me quite a bit of "Spy Game", which I thought was the best-filmed spy tale I've seen. Apr 29, Jak60 rated it it was amazing. I liked this book a lot; and there are a lot of things I liked in it: above all, the story is totally gripping, I could not put the book down, the last 50 pages are breathtaking!
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