So it is that Body of Lies is set partly in Iraq, showcases a couple of horrific bombing scenes and includes some dazzling sequences of CIA surveillance - but its makers say it's not a political film as such. It's an international espionage thriller, pure and simple, says just about everyone involved with the project. There are no hidden agendas, no political messages, they say.
'I thought it was a great spy story,' says director Ridley Scott. 'It's not a metaphor for anything.'
It's not difficult to think otherwise. The film is based on the 2007 novel of the same name by Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, who spent more than two decades covering the Middle East from the very heart of it, and probably knows more about the region - and its strained, delicate, fractious ties with the rest of the world - than anybody in the highest echelons of power.
As a result, despite the fact that the producers, writers and actors say it's a spy thriller, there remains something very topical about it.
Producer Donald De Line, who also worked on hit remake The Italian Job, says the current relevance of the movie is something that's alluded to time and again. The US has been at war in Iraq for five years, there's no end in sight to the occupation, and the resulting drain on American resources has played a role in bringing the country to the brink of economic collapse.
The film's makers were out talking about the movie just hours before the first presidential debate was to air on CNN, during which the Iraq war and the economy would be high on the agenda. So how can a movie about Islamic fundamentalist terrorists not be seen as topical?
