Body of Lies

***1/2 – Sir Wiggly Scott once again tackles a genre that has been pretty nearly done to death with this spy thriller set in the war torn Middle East. The ground covered in this tale of espionage, deceit, terrorism and religious fundamentalism is nowhere near being fresh or new, but the acting, directing and script make what would otherwise be pretty mediocre at least entertaining, although not as stellar as it could have been if the two leads weren’t so heavily relied on and the plot didn’t have a distinct air of implausibility. Stars Leonardo DiCaprio and a tubby Russell Crowe get the top billing, most of the dialogue and good lines and all the attention, but the real standout performance was from the criminally underrated Englishman Mark Strong as the head of the Jordanian intelligence agency. He has once again proven that he can take on pretty much any role and accent or language and be both convincing and appealing. As enjoyable as this movie was for the most part, I don’t think I can ever completely forgive it for its use of a Guns N’ Roses song over the closing credits. Not only are they one of the most overrated bands of all time, but they almost certainly have the worst band name in history.