Directed by Roger Donaldson / Written by Roger Towne, Kurt Wimmer and Mitch Glazer
Starring Al Pacino, Colin Farrell and Bridget Moynahan
105 mins / Buena Vista Pictures / Rated PG-13

The Poster

"Nothing is what is seems." That's a phrase that gets bandied about quite a bit in The Recruit. In the context of the movie and for the characters, it certainly rings true. I can't say however that the audience will feel the same way. The movie is predictable in nearly every way. It's an experience where you already know that one person is double crossing another, is double crossing another. But that doesn't mean that it's any less fun. Predictable movies are warm and comforting like a blanket. As long as they're not bad, I'll celebrate and enjoy them.

The Recruit is essentially a small film. Not in the sense that it's a character study, just that the scope of it is small. The film's major focus is to show the inner workings of "The Farm", CIA training headquarters. I love the bond gadgets, I love the training. It's all fun for me. These kind of movies don't always make for the most exciting viewing experiences, but I find them fun.

Pacino, as a CIA trainer sleepwalks through his role, his grunting and huffing that seems to have replaced his more subtle acting style of old. Not that it's a bad thing. A movie with a sleepwalking Pacino is usually better than one without.

Colin Farrell makes for a likeable lead. He's the common man and plays well at a recruit over his head in the world of espionage, and he does so without resorting to Martin Lawrence like antics proclaiming that he doesn't belong there. Although his American accent is a little sketchy at points, it's a good performance that will only cement the idea that he can be a bankable star.

Bridget gets the third degree.

Bridget Moynahan is really great. She seems to be getting larger and larger roles lately. I only knew her as one of the Coyote Ugly girls, but more recently she played Affleck's girl in The Sum of All Fears. The Recruit is not exactly a breakout role, but it'll probably get her some more work as a femme fatale. I'm eager to see what she can do.

I'm going to put on my computer nerd hat for a moment: the technology in the movie was great, really true to life (except for that whole virus thing.) Everything they showed could have theoretically been used the way it was used in the movie. No leaps of logic here. That may be a small thing, but it goes a very long way in drawing the viewer into the story.

I'm not going to divulge any element of the story, not because it's so surprising, but rather it can be so easily ruined. The less you know about the flick, the more fun you'll have watching it.

I have mixed feelings on this film. On one hand it was entirely predictable and on the other it was very fun and without pretension. Go see it in a matinee with a bunch of popcorn.

Movie Grade: B

Copyright 2003 Lights Out Films©