For a movie about spies, this was boring as hell.I don't know what kind of mood I was in when I queued this one. It's been in there since December of 2009. Yeah, I know. I don't really have a lot to say for myself there. I got a little click-happy. That's why my queue is holding 460 movies right now.
And the thing is, DiCaprio and Crowe don't suck in this movie. They played their respective characters (overworked loyalty-torn spy on the ground and smarmy overfed handler) very well. The cinematography is good, the editing is good, and the supporting cast is good. Particularly Mark Strong (the bad guy from Kick-Ass and Sherlock Holmes) as the head of Jordanian Intelligence. It's not even badly-written.
I think the one major flaw here is that it's too realistic. Bear with me. I'm very familiar with intelligence gathering for reasons I can't identify too closely. I spent a few years doing things for the Army and I have worked both strategic (the Crowe side) and tactical (DiCaprio).
I say that to say this: real intelligence work does not make for good movies. It's mostly boring crap where you're on the ground talking to people and praying that nothing exciting happens to you. Because in war zones "exciting" = life insurance payouts to your beneficiaries. If you're not in an active war zone, it is almost impossible to care about the people who are there other than as pieces on a board game. This foments a lot of resentment on both sides. Add in trying to liaise with other government agencies and it's a morass of red tape, lies, and backdoor deals.
Other than being mildly interesting on that front, the whole movie is a dud. There's just no reason to care. So Leonardo DiCaprio keeps getting screwed over by his CIA handler while trying to stop a terrorist network? Who gives a shit? The whole genre has been completely played out.
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