Body of Lies is the latest in a new breed of spy pictures designed to undo the fantasy world chiefly created by the James Bond series. Here, there's nothing romantic about the world of espionage, for every day offers the main character a whole slew of opportunities to wind up six feet under. Body of Lies turns out to be a crackerjack thriller, but instead of creating those thrills by aimless gunplay, it gives viewers a good idea of how dangerous the spy business can be in real life. 

Because the story is about halfway between The Kingdom and Syriana, director Ridley Scott approaches William Monahan's screenplay with a certain degree of complexity. The key players in this spy game are CIA operative Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his pudgy superior, Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe). While the latter leads a cushy lifestyle on American soil, it's Ferris who puts himself in harm's way on a regular basis. It's his job to get as uncomfortably close to terrorist organizations as  possible, grasping whatever info he can on their current goings-on. Ferris' latest assignment has him racing to get the lowdown on Al-Saleem (Alon Aboutboul), a Muslim extremist who's masterminded numerous bombings all across Europe. In order to pinpoint the fiend's center of operations, Ferris enters an uneasy alliance with Hani (Mark Strong), the head of Jordanian security. However, this results in a healthy amount of conflict, as Hoffman continues to operate without the slightest care about what Hani thinks, leaving Ferris scrambling to do whatever it takes to both finish the job and stay alive.

Body of Lies is a solid picture, but it's hard not to feel a twinge or two of disappointment considering the talent involved. Not only is the star power covered, but guiding all the players around are acclaimed director Scott and screenwriter Monahan, who recently won an Oscar for penning The Departed. Still, Body of Lies is no modern masterpiece. It's a pretty good film -- not a  great one. The movie resembles a grittier, more violent version of a Tom Clancy adventure, perhaps what Clear and Present Danger would look like if smacked upside the head with a reality stick. Scott and crew recognize that viewers would probably nod off if the turn of events unfolded in a more traditional fashion, so they've devised a method of storytelling sure to keep people on their toes. The plot crisscrosses the globe in lightning-fast instances, alliances change at the drop of a hat, and, in general, nothing is as it seems. Scott pulls all this off without the movie ever feeling cheap. He lightly tests the audience's suspension of disbelief where lesser filmmakers would set out to obliterate it.

Scott keeps Body of Lies fairly grounded by keeping his own attitude toward the characters grounded. While their actions will eventually benefit the good ol' USA, it's how Ferris and Hoffman go about their jobs that's not so squeaky-clean. Ferris practices the art of deception on a day-to-day basis, and as the story takes intriguing turns and branches out into thought-provoking directions, his own moral code becomes more and more strained in the process. DiCaprio, who's since proven himself to be more than a pretty boy actor, takes on the part with an anti-action hero slant, playing Ferris as a man who can hardly relish in his successes because he's come so close to blowing everything. Strong serves up a very good supporting performance as Hani, who's an ally to Ferris some of the time and a deadly enemy the rest of the time. Surprisingly, though, Crowe gets shortchanged with a fairly thankless role. While Hoffman is supposed to be pulling all the strings, he rarely comes across as more than just a fat guy who keeps yelling into a cell phone. And, although Golshifteh Farahani is a stunning beauty with many great movies ahead of her, her character's romance with Ferris rings with a few too many false notes.

Despite its shortcomings, Body of Lies should be applauded for remaining more heady than the average espionage outing while including a couple of effective gunfights and torture sequences for good measure. It molds brains and bullets into a riveting dramatic thriller that will probably please most moviegoers.

MY RATING: *** (out of ****)

(Released by Warner Bros. Pictures and rated "R" for strong violence including some torture and for language throughout.)