The Recruit is a big-time, star-driven Hollywood thriller that turns out to be a bit of a sham.
The Recruit (2003)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:163
Fresh:70
Rotten:93
Average Rating:5.5/10
Consensus: This polished thriller is engaging until it takes one twist too many into the predictable.
Runtime: 1 hr 55 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: James Clayton is fired up. A bartender by night and computer hacker in the few hours of daylight for which he manages to leave his water bed, the kid is flying high, on a roll with a laid-back... James Clayton is fired up. A bartender by night and computer hacker in the few hours of daylight for which he manages to leave his water bed, the kid is flying high, on a roll with a laid-back lifestyle that suits him just fine. Played by an agile Colin Farrell, Clayton is also a heartthrob with his five o'clock shadow and chiseled pecks. A cushy job offer from Dell computers peaks his interest in securing a professional career, and at the same moment he meets Walter Burke (Al Pacino), a recruiter from the CIA. Though Clayton's better judgement tells him to stay away from the shady Burke, he is curious to learn whatever he can about his father, who was also a CIA agent, killed in the line of duty. Clayton is sent to an intensive CIA training camp called "The Farm," where he quickly learns the gravity of his decision as he undergoes gruelling tests of physical, mental, and psychological strength. His romantic interest in the gorgeous, tough-as-nails Layla (Bridget Moynahan), a fellow trainee, becomes a weakness as the pressure of the tests steadily increases. Finally, without warning, Clayton is thrown into action as he and Burke go head-to-head in a mission that is more dangerous than either of them realize. With top-notch performances from a sly Pacino and a pumped-up Farrell, THE RECRUIT's best moments come from the intensity resonating between its characters. In addition, the settings and training activities at "The Farm" give intriguing insights into CIA recruitment and initiation. [More]
Starring: Al Pacino, Colin Farrell, Bridget Moynahan, Gabriel Macht
Starring: Al Pacino, Colin Farrell, Bridget Moynahan, Gabriel Macht
Director: Roger Donaldson
Director: Roger Donaldson
Screenwriter: Kurt Wimmer, Mitch Glazer, Roger Towne
Producer: Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum, Jeff Apple
Studio: Touchstone Pictures
Reviews for The Recruit
This is Donaldson's third thriller set amid Washington's powerful. They've all been winners -- smart, taut and more satisfying than anyone has a right to expect.
The Recruit is serviceable spy fodder made a great guilty pleasure by Pacino's 'OK, no Oscar here, let's have some fun' performance.
There's a decent little thriller trying to break out of the messy tangled plotting and shallow, scenery-chewing character development that makes up much of The Recruit.
The foreshadowing is a bit heavy-handed, but the writers and director largely manage the tension and mystery tactfully.
A serviceable spy thriller that stumbles over one too many plot twists, one too many shots of its hero typing desperately at his computer, and a romantic subplot that's nice to look at but awfully silly.
What you think you know and what is actually true is what makes this one watchable.
It could have been a much better movie. But, unfortunately, Al Pacino can only play one character at a time.
You want originality, you're in the wrong movie -- 'The Recruit' only has leftovers.
Too often, Farrell cedes the dramatic high ground to Pacino, who grabs it with both hands and yanks the movie off its axis.
The movie's so busy creating twists and turns that it never finds a rhythm.
In this tepid spy thriller, everything is pretty much what you would expect.
If CIA agents are really so hung up on father issues and rocky romances as they always seem to be in the movies, the so-called free world is in dire straits indeed.
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