The Recruit (2003)

Director:

Roger Donaldson

Writers (WGA):

Roger Towne (written by) and
Kurt Wimmer (written by) ...

Release Date:

31 January 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Thriller

Tagline:

Trust. Betrayal. Deception. In the C.I.A. nothing is what it seems.

Plot:

A brilliant young CIA trainee is asked by his mentor to help find a mole in the Agency.

Plot Keywords:

CIA | Mole | Mentor | Spy | Product Placement

Awards:

2 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sat. Nov. 21

1:00 PM

TNT

Cast

Al Pacino	...	Walter Burke
Colin Farrell	...	James Douglas Clayton
Bridget Moynahan	...	Layla Moore
Gabriel Macht	...	Zack
Kenneth Mitchell	...	Alan (as Ken Mitchell)
Mike Realba	...	Ronnie Gibson
Ron Lea	...	Bill Rudolph, Dell Rep
Karl Pruner	...	Dennis Slayne
Jeanie Calleja	...	Co-Ed #1
Jenny Levine	...	Blonde with Cell Phone (as Jennifer Levine)
Angelo Tsarouchas	...	Cab Driver
Veronica Hurnick	...	Polygraph Interrogator (as Veronika Hurnik)
Eugene Lipinski	...	Husky Man
Mark Ellis	...	Test Instructor
Richard Fitzpatrick	...	Rob Stevens

Also Known As:

The Farm (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence, sexuality and language.

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Persian | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | Malaysia:U | Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 (w) | Hong Kong:IIA | Ireland:15 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A (original rating) | UK:12 (video rating) | USA:PG-13 | Canada:A

Filming Locations:

Arlington, Virginia, USA

Company:

Touchstone Pictures

Trivia:

While playing cards with the other recruits, Colin Farrell's character, Clayton, refers to his opponent, a former Miami cop, as "Sonny Crockett". Several years later Farrell would portray Sonny Crockett in Miami Vice (2006).

Goofs:

Errors in geography: When James is waiting for Layla to come out of CIA with the stolen software, he parks his truck on a lower level just next to the entrance. a) There is no such lower level near the CIA Langley entrance (even at a far away distance). b) If you park or mistakenly drive into the area near the entrance, in no time you would see gun trotting cops knocking on your windshield.

Quotes:

Walter Burke: All right, your objective - reach the parking lot with an asset who intends to have sex with you.
James Clayton: You want us to pick up a girl?
Walter Burke: Well, uh, five, actually - one each.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

Soundtrack:

We Will Rock You

Everything is a Test!!! That's a Good and Bad Thing.

'The Recruit,' is an MIT whiz kid James Clayton (Colin Farrel). His recruiter is CIA guy Walter Burke (Al Pacino). He is the head guy at the CIA training centre, 'the farm,' which Clayton and fellow trainee/love interest Layla Moore (Bridget Moynahan) go through.

The movie is good enough to watch but is not entirely riveting. You see, we are told 'everything is a test!!!' and this lurks behind every plot turn that Clayton goes through. Are his problems for real? Or is it just another training test by Burke? If this sounds like tense stuff, it is and it isn't. Sometimes it will hook you in but other times it is just annoying - the feeling that he's not in any real danger but its all just a drill. Interest goes up and down until after the 'farm' training stuff. At this point, the story's focus gets much sharper and things become more consistently interesting, with a few cool twists. This is quite a fair way into the movie, though.

I love Pacino, and was quite interested in whether Farrell could match him after the promise he showed in 'Minority Report.' Well he does. In fact, everyone holds their own and the combined chemistry boosts the film. Pacino is steady throughout and doesn't do his unrestrained thing until the end (its still worth the wait!). Also, Moynahan is thankfully given more to do than just be the obligatory chick/eye-candy.

Overall, decent enough to give a whirl. It's better than most of the other spy / thriller stuff out there.