Owen and Roberts in a battle of the sexes

Julia Roberts and Clive Owen reunite in the highly anticipated new film from writer/director Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton), set in the high stakes arena of corporate espionage.

Words are meaningless in this comic caper as everyone is bluffing to some extent, concealing true intentions behind a seemingly genuine smile.

We don't know who to trust – if anyone – as the intricate plot unfolds, right up to the final frame when the myriad knots untangle and the winners and losers in the elaborate scam discover their fate.

In a world where every identity could be an elaborate illusion and every declaration of love a barefaced lie, who do you trust?

Gilroy gleefully pulls the rug from under us at the same time as the characters, relishing each hairpin twist and turn.

The chronologically fractured structure helps to conceal some of these sleights of hand, at the expense of dramatic momentum.

The fog does lift in closing scenes but by then, some members of the audience may be a tad exhausted, performing mental gymnastics without any obvious payoff.

CIA officer Claire Stenwick (Roberts) and MI6 agent Ray Koval (Owen) leave behind government intelligence to seek an easier and far more profitable future by employing their expertise in the cutthroat world of big business.

Working for rival multinationals, Claire and Ray find themselves chasing the same proof of a product that, once patented, could make either company market leaders and a small fortune.

In order to stay one step ahead of the competition, Claire and Ray double, and triple-cross, using every trick in the book (and inventing a few new ones) to ensure they get the relevant documents first.

However, the former spies soon realise that all of their training cannot immunise them to mutual attraction, which frequently leads to the bedroom.

The playfulness permeates Gilroy's dialogue, especially the sexually heated exchanges between Claire and Ray, like when she confronts him over skimpy underwear found in his closet.

"The only woman who has been in here is the landlady," he protests, "and she couldn't wear those as a wristband!"

It's frothy and energetic entertainment in a similar vein to Ocean's Eleven and with similarly sun-kissed locations.

Roberts and Owen spark off each other, compelling us to take sides as the battle of the sexes escalates into an all-out war, in which the slightest weakness is mercilessly exploited.

Duplicity, starring Clive Owen and Julia Roberts, is released today, certificate 12A.