Occupational hazards are unavoidable. Just ask the whale tank cleaner at the aquarium. Or porn star Jenna Jameson. Or CIA operative Roger Ferris — besides the perpetual threat of being blown up, tortured, or decapitated, he can trust no-one. Not even his own boss. Especially not his own boss.

Ed Hoffman is a veteran of the international intelligence game, capable of running complex counter-terrorist operations in the Middle East while dropping off his kids at school in suburban America.

Both know that in today's spy games what counts isn't technology or arms — but information.

"Information is the bottom line, and the subtext of that could be that you cannot trust anyone, not even your best friend," explains 'Body of Lies' director Ridley Scott.

"Turn your back for a second and you will be used.

"And if you are running an organisation that is important to national security, without that attitude you will be weaker and vulnerable. That's the job."

But as the manipulative Hoffman's man on the ground, the one dealing with the shady terrorists face-to-face, Ferris is even weaker and more vulnerable. Tasked with capturing Al-Saleem, a Jordan-based al-Qaeda operative who's taken to bombing European cities, the idealistic, battle-scarred CIA man must put into action a serpentine operation to lure out his prey. Yet Hoffman — half a world away but ever present through the real-time coverage of eye in the sky satellites — doesn't always play along, holding back vital information, planning counterstrikes of his own.

Their relationship is central to 'Body of Lies'. Beneath the intricate plot — adapted from veteran journalist David Ignatius' book by the Oscar-winning writer of 'Departed' — and the expected visual thrill of handheld camera chases through Baghdad's streets, Scott again relies heavily on the human angle. As he did in 'Black Hawk Down' and 'American Gangster', the director oft derided for a style over substance approach thoroughly explores the big themes through the eyes of the men on the ground.

His chosen actors know how it's done. Regular collaborator Russell Crowe has gone flabby and grey, his 50-something Hoffman more man-next-door than spymaster. But beneath the shambling exterior and cheerful "Hi, there, little buddy" greetings for Ferris, there's an icy resolve as scary and dangerous as his arrogance. Leonardo DiCaprio, as the puppet, is fully aware of that dichotomy, giving his Oscar-winning co-star the space to turn on the spin. Not that Leo stands back. Showing the same frustrated desperation he brought to 'The Departed' and that arrogant shell of 'Blood Diamond', he's the story's beating heart, keeping the action — or moments of unnecessary romance — coming while Crowe pulls the strings.

'Body of Lies' is not perfect. Like 'Syriana' before it, Scott's film seems wilfully complex and convoluted, while the relationship that develops between Ferris and a Jordanian nurse is just contrived.

But it's the best we've got, bringing relevance to the murky world recently explored in Cold War spy sagas 'Breach' and 'The Good Shepherd' — and offering Hollywood's first substantial look at the politics of the Middle East conflict. Forget the vacuous 'The Kingdom' (an action movie punching above its weight) and misguided 'Rendition' (showing graphic torture isn't the most astute way of condemning the practise).

Flawed as it is, 'Body of Lies' gets closest to the truth.