In theaters

BODY OF LIES, directed by Ridley Scott, written by William Monahan, 129 minutes, rated R.

The new Ridley Scott thriller, “Body of Lies,” is a misfire, but not an embarrassment. So, that’s positive, I guess.

It features solid performances from a committed cast, a timely story that plunges into the murk of the Middle East, and a director who seriously wants to understand and capture on film all of the nuances, complexities, double-crosses and dangers our war against terror has ignited overseas.

Good luck with that, you say? Good luck, indeed. The trouble with the movie isn’t just that we’re still too close to our involvement in the Middle East to see it clearly, but that the movie itself fails to make us believe that it sees it clearly. “Body of Lies” is too ambitious for its own good. It tries to view the Middle East from so many angles, it lacks the critical clarity of vision necessary to carry itself and audiences through to the end.

What’s also working against it is its budget, which is so large, Scott and his screenwriter, William Monahan (“The Departed”), had to balance any insight they might have gleaned from David Ignatius’ book, on which the film is based, with the cheaper underpinnings of entertainment. Problem is, the two don’t mix because Scott and Monahan don’t want a mere entertainment. More than anything, they want something that’s profound, which would have been nice if the crowd-pleasing elements hadn’t undermined them.

A streamlined version of the film’s very dense plot follows: Leonardo DiCaprio is Roger Ferris, a CIA operative working the angles in Jordan while his superior, Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe), assists him from Virginia using his laptop and various other technological tools. Hoffman does so with the help of satellites, which zoom in and out with such scary precision, they allow Hoffman to watch Ferris with ease – at least while he’s outside.

Their mission is more complicated than the cool, hammy Hoffman would have you believe. Ferris has been charged to flush out a powerful Islamic terrorist (Alon Aboutboul). To do so, he has dropped himself into the arms of Hani Salaam (Mark Strong, excellent), Jordan’s suave head of security, whose trust Ferris must obtain if he’s to secure the kind of intelligence he needs to bring down his man.

If all of this sounds straightforward, it isn’t. Some will argue, of course, that it can’t be – we are, after all, dealing with the Middle East, which is complicated beyond reason.

But regardless of how good the performances are – and they are very good here – what good are they in a cluttered, unfocused movie that can’t contain its story or its characters, and which too often lacks logic and narrative drive? And why offer a forced, awkward romantic subplot involving Ferris and a pretty nurse (Golshifteh Farahani) when it has no place in the movie? Oh right, to broaden the audience and to help pay for the movie.

Too bad by doing so they screwed it up.

Grade: C

On DVD and Blu-ray Disc

THE INCREDIBLE HULK, directed by Louis Leterrier, written by Zak Penn, 116 minutes, rated PG-13.

Now, this is how you go green.

Unlike “Hulk,” Ang Lee’s disappointing 2003 film based on Stan Lee’s 1962 Marvel comic book series and, in turn, the 1978-1982 television show that starred Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno, Louis Leterrier’s version gets it right.

Much like “Iron Man” before it (only without the wit, which it lacks), this movie moves, particularly in its slick opening moments, which are a wonder of brevity, compressing into a few neatly packaged minutes everything fans already know about how scientist Bruce Banner became The Hulk. For those who don’t know, not to worry. The distilling of those events is so well done, few will be lost.

The movie stars Edward Norton as Banner, who begins the movie already zapped with enough juice to turn him into the towering Hulk whenever he becomes angry or, in one potentially disastrous scene, sexually aroused by his girlfriend and fellow scientist, Betty (Liv Tyler).

Since each situation could lead to ruin if Bruce lost control of himself, he works hard to keep his calm. When that’s impossible, as it sometimes is, he turns into the towering, muscular beast of the title, a creature who is so nearly indestructible, it takes something of a similar ilk to fell him.

That would be Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth), a greasy special-ops fighter who agrees to be similarly zapped by Betty’s father, the evil Gen. Ross (William Hurt), so he can ‘roid out and become The Abomination, a humanoid lizard giant with a roar that could jump-start the Earth’s core, not to mention one mother of a left hook.

The climactic fight he and Bruce share in Harlem is a highlight, with the special effects rising to the occasion as each monster literally destroys city streets in an effort to destroy the other. And there are other standouts, such as an extended rooftop chase in Rio, where Banner was in hiding before Ross and company tracked him down. And another scene on a Virginia college campus in which Hulk takes on the full weight of the military, with Betty brushing close to an unfortunate end.

Key to the film’s success is that Leterrier allows you to feel Banner’s isolation without sacrificing the main reason audiences want to see the film – for its action and the very real bond shared between Banner and Betty. In a broad nod to “King Kong,” there’s a scene in which Betty and the Hulk bond high above the ground, just within a cave nestled within a stone fortress. There’s love between them, confusion and war around them, the Hulk is the target and Leterrier is there to ignite the screen with action.

He rarely disappoints.

Grade: B+

WeekinRewind.com is the site for Bangor Daily News film critic Christopher Smith’s blog, DVD giveaways and archive of movie reviews. Smith’s reviews appear Mondays, Fridays and weekends in Lifestyle, as well as on bangordailynews.com. He may be reached at Christopher@weekinrewind.com.

New to DVD

Renting a DVD? BDN film critic Christopher Smith can help. Below are his grades of recent releases. Those in bold print are new to stores this week.

Baby Mama – B

Deception: D+

Definitely, Maybe – B+

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly – A

Drillbit Taylor – B-

Forbidden Kingdom – B-

Forgetting Sarah Marshall – B-

The Happening – B

The Incredible Hulk – B+

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull – B-

Iron Man – A-

Jumper – D

Juno – A-

The Kite Runner – B-

Lars and the Real Girl – B+

Leatherheads – B-

Lust, Caution – C

Michael Clayton – A-

National Treasure: Book of Secrets – C+

Never Back Down – D

No Country for Old Men – A

The Other Boleyn Girl – B-

Penelope – B-

Persepolis – A-

Prom Night – D

The Ruins – C+

The Savages – B+

Semi-Pro – BOMB

Sex and the City: B-

Shine a Light – A-

Son of Rambow – B

Speed Racer – D-

The Spiderwick Chronicles – C+

Stop-Loss – B-

There Will Be Blood – A

Vantage Point – C-

What Happens in Vegas – B-