I love this movie so much

hyped garbage

A different way of telling a story

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

As a fan of the action/thriller genre, I have seen my share of this fare. "The Recruit" occupies a spot near the top of my list due to its fast-moving plot and bevy of twists/turns.The basic plot of this film focuses on a fresh crop of CIA wannabes. One cadet in particular (Colin Farrell) catches the eye of the lead instructor (Al Pacino), and is given a top-secret assignment far beyond his supposed experience level. From there, the stakes only continue to escalate as the cadet struggles to complete his mission.The hallmark of this movie is that just when you think you have a bead on it, it throws you another curveball. Some of the other Amazon reviewers have commented that the plot twists seemed predictable or inconsistent, but I couldn't disagree more. I was on the edge of my seat for the entire film and never felt cheated or jerked around.The acting is also sound all around. Pacino may be kind of a nut, but he sure can act (he almost steals the show in this case). Farrell is adept as the young cadet who wants something more than a 9-5 employment. Bridget Moynahan also turns in a good performance as a potential love interest for Farrell's character.Thus, I highly recommend "The Recruit" to any and all fans of action/thrillers. The acting is good enough to suck you in, while the hairpin-turn plot twists will keep you guessing until the very end.

The Recruit is a CIA thriller that is very entertaining despite the whole "been there, done that" saying. Despite not trying to think about the film, I was able to predict what was going to happen from like a mile away. That being said, this is still rather entertaining and an above-average spy thriller thanks to great acting and a strong screenplay.Roger Donaldson's film takes us into the CIA as senior instructor Walter Burke recruits a young MIT computer-programmer named James Clayton to take part in testing to join the CIA. Once he joins the CIA, he is tasked to root out a mole.The acting is pretty darn good. Al Pacino is such a prestigious actor and I was a little surprised to see him in a film like this. Not his best role, but still is very effective. The young Colin Farrell does a good job in his role as well.Overall, The Recruit is your average spy thriller but it does a good job on setting up the premise. Learning how to be a member of the CIA is hard and the film shows it. It's a very interesting and suspenseful film, but I feel like the ending could have been better. The ending just seemed a little too ordinary. But on a whole, a solid film. I rate this film 8/10.

CIA trainer Walter Burke (Al Pacino) recruits James Douglas Clayton (Colin Farrell). While training at The Farm, James falls for fellow recruit Layla Moore (Bridget Moynahan).This movie is divided in 2. The first half takes place at The Farm as they work through the program. It's straight forward with all the well-wore Hollywood cliché about CIA training. It had a couple interesting scenes designed to prepare you for the usual twists of a spy genre. Then James gets kicked out of the program, and Walter recruits him once again, this time as an off-the-books agent to root out a double agent's contact. The style is not big enough. They needed more action. Bigger bang. If you're making an action movie, you'd gotta go big. Considering the caliber of the stars here, the action has gotta match.

This isn't a senseless spy action movie ("à la" James Bond) but rather a very enjoyable psycho-thriller. The fact that reality is never what it seems is particularly evident here and I felt that sometimes the script was very PKDish in this way. The movie is remarkably effective to show how can anyone be turned on: just say the things the "target" wants to hear. Here, Farrell is desperately in need of a father and Al delivers a brilliant portray: Now that his time of his young reckless is finished, he can be moving as a patriarchal figure. Farrell isn't bad either but like him, my eyes were made all opened for Bridget (except maybe for her red hair) and it's a pity that her career stopped brutally. I'm a bit surprised by the lack of security inside the "company" but i remember also that this "company" housed a serious mole (see the case of A. A.). In conclusion, it's a really informative account of the spooks psychology and it helps understand why conspiracies are always hot.