SINGAPORE : It is directed by one of Hollywood’s most critically and commercially acclaimed directors, written by "The Departed" screenwriter, adapted from the well-received David Ignatius novel, and stars two of the world’s highly bankable stars with actual acting chops. So why didn’t US audiences go watch "Body of Lies"?

True that director Ridley Scott delivers a sometimes meandering NC-16 espionage thriller, but that doesn’t make it any less involving.

CIA agent Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio) is an expert on Arabic culture, fluent in multiple languages and battles the violent Middle-Eastern front-lines valiantly as he tracks down an Osama-like terrorist mastermind. His soulless, egomaniacal, double-talking boss Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe) directs him back in the comforts of safe America.

An impressive Mark Strong rounds up the cast as the suave head of Jordanian intelligence with a jittery moral compass.

With echoes of "Syriana", "Body of Lies" doesn’t bore as it zips all around the world to exotic locales, throwing in explosions and tense confrontations set in vast empty deserts.

While both leads are commendable with the requisite intensity and urgency for their roles, the dense and convoluted script unfortunately seems to holds them back, ultimately revealing a fairly formulaic story underneath the action.

The climax is also as offensively conventional as it gets.

War is a very real and nasty game, and Scott forgets to include a purpose or motivation for his protagonists, giving his audience little reason to be sympathetic to either side in the fight.

Still, go watch it if only so you can have opinion on whether the wicked chicken or the malevolent egg came first in this slick but genuinely thoughtful film. - TODAYrose