Body of Lies (2008)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
A CIA operative and the head of Jordanian Intelligence must navigate a tense alliance to track down a dangerous terrorist leader.
The story
Set in the Middle East, the film follows the attempts of the CIA and the GID of Jordan to catch terrorist Al-Saleem. Frustrated by their target's elusiveness, differences in their approaches strain relations between a CIA operative, his superior, and the head of Jordanian Intelligence. The story explores the tension between Western and Arab societies and the contrast between technological and human counter-intelligence methods.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Following a series of bombings, CIA officer Roger Ferris tracks the elusive terrorist leader Al-Saleem. After a failed operation in Iraq leads to the death of his partner Bassam, Ferris is stationed in Jordan. He forms a complex relationship with Hani Salaam, the head of Jordanian Intelligence, while his superior in the U.S., Ed Hoffman, pushes for more aggressive tactics. The plot involves a series of maneuvers to identify Al-Saleem's network, including the use of a fake persona to frame an innocent architect. After a series of betrayals and a staged abduction, Ferris is captured and taken to Syria, where he is interrogated by Al-Saleem. He is eventually rescued by Salaam's agents, who reveal that the entire sequence was a coordinated effort to lure Al-Saleem into the open. After Al-Saleem is captured, Ferris chooses to leave the CIA to be with Aisha.
- First release year
- 2008
- Runtime (minutes)
- 128
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Ridley Scott
- Writers
- William Monahan · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Leonardo DiCaprio · Roger Ferris; Russell Crowe · Ed Hoffman; Mark Strong · Hani Salaam; Golshifteh Farahani · Aisha; Oscar Isaac · Bassam
- Genres
- action; thriller
- Themes
- Western and Arab civilizations; intelligence operations; terrorism; human intelligence vs technology
- Tone and mood
- tense; serious
- Premise and plot tags
- espionage; counter-terrorism; political thriller
- Source material / true-story basis
- the 2007 novel by David Ignatius
- Content notes
- violence
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the direction, visual style, and lead performances, but criticized the formulaic handling of the story and its reliance on spy genre conventions.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 55% · review count: 216; Metacritic · score: 57 · scale: 100 · review count: 37; CinemaScore · score: B- · scale: A+ to F
- Production trivia
- The film was shot in Morocco because authorities in Dubai refused permission due to the script's political themes.; Russell Crowe gained 63 pounds for his role.; The character Hani Salaam was modeled after the 2000–2005 GID chief Sa'ad Khair.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…