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The Recruit

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The Recruit (2003)

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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

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • The Recruit
  • Academy Award(R)-Winner Al Pacino (Best Actor, SCENT OF A WOMAN, 1991) and Colin Farrell (MINORITY REPORT) take you deeper into the CIA than you've ever been before in this action-packed psychological thriller. James Clayton (Farrell), one of the smartest graduates in the country, is just the person Walter Burke (Pacino) wants in the Agency. James quickly rises through the ranks and falls for Layla (Bridget Moynahan, THE SUM OF ALL FEARS), one of his fellow recruits. But just when James starts to question his role and his cat-and-mouse relationship with his mentor, Burke taps him to root out a mole. As the suspense builds in a maze of gripping twists and turns, there are only two things James can count on -- he can't trust anyone and nothing is as it seems. It's the ultimate CIA thriller with so many surprise plot twists, you'll want to watch it again and again.
  • Source: Buena Vista Home Entertainment.
  •  
     
     
     

    Reviews for The Recruit

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    1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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    Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
    05/19/04
    Jeff Strickler
    Jeff Strickler
    Minneapolis Star Tribune
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    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.

    Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
    02/12/03
    Andrew Sarris
    Andrew Sarris
    New York Observer
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    The Recruit weighs in like a porous brick of recycled polypropylene.

    Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
    02/05/03
    Michael Atkinson
    Michael Atkinson
    Village Voice
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    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.

    Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
    02/03/03
    Richard Roeper
    Richard Roeper
    Ebert & Roeper
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    A compelling, if throwaway, drama.

    Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
    01/31/03
    Desson Thomson
    Desson Thomson
    Washington Post
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    It's nothing but style and noise, threadbare of content, empty of ideas.

    Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
    01/31/03
    Stephen Hunter
    Stephen Hunter
    Washington Post
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    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.'

    Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
    01/31/03
    Geoff Pevere
    Geoff Pevere
    Toronto Star
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    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.

    Full Review Source: San Jose Mercury News | comment Comment
    01/31/03
    Glenn Lovell
    Glenn Lovell
    San Jose Mercury News
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    The Recruit falters after it leaves the Farm, throwing in unbelievable plot devices and losing its high-wire tension.

    Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
    01/31/03
    Carla Meyer
    Carla Meyer
    San Francisco Chronicle
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    An entertaining ride.

    Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
    01/31/03
    Peter Travers
    Peter Travers
    Rolling Stone
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    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.

    Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
    01/31/03
    John Anderson
    John Anderson
    Newsday
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Although The Recruit isn't Len Deighton or Robert Ludlum, it is enjoyable until the screenwriters develop a collective brain cramp.

    Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
    01/31/03
    James Berardinelli
    James Berardinelli
    ReelViews
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    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.

    Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
    01/31/03
    Eric Harrison
    Eric Harrison
    Houston Chronicle
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    The Recruit is serviceable spy fodder made a great guilty pleasure by Pacino's 'OK, no Oscar here, let's have some fun' performance.

    Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
    01/31/03
    Tom Long
    Tom Long
    Detroit News
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    The foreshadowing is a bit heavy-handed, but the writers and director largely manage the tension and mystery tactfully.

    Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
    01/31/03
    Ricardo Baca
    Ricardo Baca
    Denver Post
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    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.

    Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
    01/31/03
    Ty Burr
    Ty Burr
    Boston Globe
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    In this tepid spy thriller, everything is pretty much what you would expect.

    Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
    01/31/03
    Bill Muller
    Bill Muller
    Arizona Republic
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    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.

    Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | comment Comment
    01/31/03
    John Monaghan
    John Monaghan
    Detroit Free Press
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    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.

    Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
    01/31/03
    Lou Lumenick
    Lou Lumenick
    New York Post
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    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.

    Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
    01/31/03
    Rick Groen
    Rick Groen
    Globe and Mail
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
     
     
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