In what will surely be considered one of the all time great opening scenes, Paul Giamatti and Tom Wilkinson as a couple of suited, corporate big wigs, argue, then resort to blows and grappling in slow motion on a rain-soaked tarmac between their executive jets while their red-tied flunkies look on in horror and a frisky James Newton Howard instrumental plays over all. It shows us right off the bat that the film doesn’t take itself too seriously, setting the mood for good, slick, intriguing fun.

This surprised me. I anticipated a painfully contrived star vehicle for Julia Roberts. I mean, really, we haven’t seen her make any kind of big screen effort since Erin Brokovich. Voiceovers and The Oceans movies hardly count, and everything else she’s been involved in has been pretty vapid. In Duplicity, she’s still not trying very hard, but is engaging none-the-less. What can you do, really, when you reach the movie star status of Tom Cruise or Leonardo DiCaprio, who can never quite disappear into a role any more because their Hollywood image overwhelms everything else.

This time around, Roberts mixes with Clive Owen quite nicely. They’re former government agents, now corporate security experts, or spies, depending on how you look at it. Owen couldn’t be more suave, but his British finesse somehow earns him positions in places like Cleveland. To tell you any more about the plot would spoil the flashback-driven unwinding, but know that director Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton, the Jason Bourne films) does a skillful job of posing questions that are not immediately answered. Just wait. Be patient. No, you didn’t miss anything, all will eventually be revealed in the end. Just go with the flow. As with the Bourne films, our characters globe trot from glamorous location to glamorous location (Zurich, Rome, Dubai, the Bahamas, etc.), and spend a lot of expensive time in New York City as well. But unlike the Bourne franchise, the camera work in Duplicity is smooth and lush. No jumpy, seasick inducing cuts, and there’s plenty of sardonic humor and campy moments for the stellar cast. Sophisticated, intriguing and entertaining, Duplicity is definitely a cut above your average March release.

Rated PG-13

—Lisa Johnson Mandell