2008 / Ridley Scott > On his follow-up to The Departed, screenwriter William Monahan really tries to up complexity of the plot as if it wasn’t enough the first time around. In many ways, Body of Lies ends up being a similar type of poker face tale of Billy Costigan, though this time Leonardo DiCaprio’s character works for the U.S. Government and fights terrorism. It works but it doesn’t work: The pacing is disjointed and certain subplots seem afterthoughts to make the whole equation make sense. Scott, though, knows how refine coal into diamonds, so there’s little surprise in how effective much of the directing is. If the film has a purpose other than liberal guilt, it’s not completely obvious. And what it lacks in terms of intelligence (ironically) compared to a film like Syriana, it makes up for with a slick presentation and intensity.