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The Recruit (2003)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:34
Fresh:15
Rotten:19
Average Rating:5.6/10
Consensus: This polished thriller is engaging until it takes one twist too many into the predictable.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for violence, sexuality and language
Runtime: 1 hr 55 mins
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:Jan 31, 2003 Wide
Box Office: $52,724,557
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
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Release:
May 27, 2003
Reviews for The Recruit
Here I suspected the ultimate villain almost from the very beginning -- and, if I wasn't fooled, I can't imagine anyone else will be, either.
I liked all those set pieces where they set up these elaborate schemes, and you're not sure who the good guy is, and the bad guy.
It's nothing but style and noise, threadbare of content, empty of ideas.
The Recruit manages to be almost utterly without innovation apart from its heroic determination to make matinee idol material out of a spy agency that pioneered the process of extra-legal bureaucratic sociopathology known as 'black ops.'
Unfolds more like a 100-minute game of Gotcha! than a conventional spy drama, and, depending on your tolerance for such things, this will either thrill or bore you.
The Recruit falters after it leaves the Farm, throwing in unbelievable plot devices and losing its high-wire tension.
It's hard to tell which brand of coffee they're plugging in The Recruit but they sure drink a lot of it. Which is a good thing. A vicarious caffeine buzz is better than nothing, and you're going to need something to keep you awake.
Although The Recruit isn't Len Deighton or Robert Ludlum, it is enjoyable until the screenwriters develop a collective brain cramp.
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.
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.
In this tepid spy thriller, everything is pretty much what you would expect.
The Recruit adds little to the already overworked espionage genre, but it completes its mission, working quietly and stealthily, without drawing too much attention to itself.
The Recruit may have a storyline as generic as its title, but in the explosive Pacino and the smoldering Farrell, it has a pair of stars who are not as easily dismissed.
Beyond the opening frames, the whole movie has an altogether musty odour, as if those up-to-the-minute lines had simply been tacked on to a mothballed script.
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