"Body of Lies" ***1/2 (out of four): A tight, first-rate espionage thriller that casts a bleak light on American involvement in the Middle East.

Summer has its big-budget popcorn movies, Fall has its "important" tent-pole films with big stars tackling big issues. Russell Crowe, Leonardo DiCaprio and Ridley Scott are three names so big that you'd think they might have already made a movie like "Body of Lies" - a first-rate spy thriller with its finger on the pulse of current events. Well, they haven't. But now that they have, we can be thankful that all three men, along with screenwriter William Monahan ("The Departed"), are in fine fighting form. Adapted from Washington Post columnist David Ignatius's 2007 novel, "Lies" overcomes a rote trailer and tired tagline ("Trust no one") to become the first must-see of the season.

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