“The Recruit” (Touchstone Pictures)
Al Pacino and Colin Farrell co-star in the new action film “The Recruit” which gives an inside peak at life as a CIA trainee and agent. This makes for a fairly interesting movie, but somehow the execution of the plot doesn’t deliver the suspense or surprises it should. The acting is good and solid but the plot is only so-so.
James Clayton (Farrell) is a computer whiz who is approached by Walter Burke (Pacino) and asked if he would like to sign on as a CIA trainee. Clayton’s father died mysteriously when James was a teenager and he always thought maybe his dad was a CIA operative. So he signs on not only because of the career possibilities but also in hopes of learning more about his dad’s death.
A girl named Layla (Bridget Moynahan) is a fellow recruit and there is an instant attraction between her and James. They pair up for different assignments and seem to work well together. But after training is finished Burke tells James that Layla is a spy. Now the game really begins.
There are a few twists and turns before the final revelations, but either you will guess them or you won’t care about them. In any event it is not earth shattering in the least. The surprises make for an okay ending but not a super one.
Pacino is good as always but somehow his cynical, posturing characters are all beginning to look and seem the same. We have seen Burke-like characters played by Pacino in movie after movie.
Farrell is the hot new star in Hollywood and I am still wondering why. He is not that good looking, that charismatic, or that good an actor. Critics have named him the new “James Dean” but they are way off the mark. In this film he is an adequate actor but nothing to write home about.
The film is rated PG-13 for profanity and violence.
If life as a trainee is this tough I am surprised the CIA gets many recruits. This film makes it look like you could lose your psychological balance as well as get beaten black and blue. Not a pretty picture.
Just based on Pacino being in the movie, you might get some enjoyment. Still “The Recruit” should have been very good instead of just passable.
I scored “The Recruit” a gung-ho 5 out of 10
©2003 Jackie K. Cooper
