Yeah, it stars a couple of A-list marquee names and is directed by a renowned filmmaker and written by the Oscar-winning screenwriter of "The Departed." But even with this lineup, it can't help but reveal itself as a middlebrow international thriller, another espionage flick to tide you over until "Quantum of Solace" comes out.

Despite its middlebrow nature, it does take itself seriously. Of course, when a movie stars Leonardo DiCaprio, it has no choice but to take itself seriously. DiCaprio is Roger Ferris, a CIA operative who spends most of his time tracking down terrorists -- and trying to escape getting blown to bits -- all over the Middle East.

With Ferris taking orders from his intrusive stateside boss (Russell Crowe), he gets dispatched to Amman, Jordan, to get a bead on a dangerous, enigmatic jihadist leader named Al-Saleem (Alon Aboutboul).

Much as he did when he tacked on a cockamamie South African accent to play a rogue former mercenary in "Blood Diamond," DiCaprio revels in going into cocky, seductive, global danger-man mode in "Lies."

Watch him get chummy with the playarific head of Jordanian General Intelligence (dashing Brit actor Mark Strong) to get what he needs to hunt down Al-Saleem. Watch him try to romance a Jordanian nurse (Golshiftah Farahani) while keeping his job a secret. Watch him meticulously set up a fake terrorist operation to bring the hater out of Al-Saleem. And watch him make kvetching speeches about how the U.S. has no idea what's going down in the Middle East, in that way only Leonardo DiCaprio can.

And therein lies the problem with "Lies": It's basically a lesson on foreign diplomacy posing as a rousing action-adventure. No matter how many times epic director Ridley Scott spans the globe to keep things exotic and exciting, William Monahan's doughy script (adapted from David Ignatius's 2007 novel) always reminds you that this movie is really about Something Important.

You may find yourself more transfixed (as I did) on Crowe's performance. You may just find yourself transfixed by Crowe, who reportedly slapped on 63 pounds and a corn-pone accent, period.

Surely, you'll be wondering what he is doing in a role that's usually relegated to someone like Tommy Lee Jones. I would say he's slumming, but slumming seems to be what his performance is all about.

His character is a tacky-yet-patriotic lout who rules with an iron thumb through cell phones and laptops. He barks orders while taking his kids to school, practically nonchalant and ambivalent toward the chaos and destruction he is causing millions of miles away.

Of course, his character is supposed to represent the arrogance of the U.S. government. But thankfully, Crowe has too much fun making this character more memorable than he should be.

For the few scenes he is in, Russell Crowe does indeed make "Body of Lies" Something Important: entertaining.

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