The Recruit
Released January 31, 2003

Rated: PG-13 for violence, sexuality and language
Starring: Al Pacino, Colin Farrell, and Bridget Moynahan
Screenwriters: Roger Towne, Kurt Wimmer
Director: Roger Donaldson

Reviewed by Peter Veugelaers Ó 2003
- You'll need a survivor pack

I suppose the makers of "The Recruit" thought it best to take the soft option and make an unbelievable thriller out of serious background material. Considering that America is still shaking from September 11 and the CIA, who are the focus of this film, had their work cut out for them since.

Maybe American filmmakers just don’t want to go down that path of making a film even resembling something intelligent that involves national security. So, that’s why they got an expatriate New Zealander to direct this turkey – it lacks the personal connection to pertinent issues. It won’t be for a while until mainstream filmmakers start to deal with the real stories of international terror in the new millennium.

This is partly a shallow character study of two CIA figures – the new kid on the block, James Clayton (Farrell), and the shady mentor who is teaching him the ropes, Walter Burke (Pacino).

Clayton is computer literate cum geek status, who works in bar, and catches the eye of Burke who, when giving his recruiter pitch, comes across like the devil’s advocate, snaky and untrustworthy, sounding very much like Pacino’s Devil from his 90’s movie. Something is going to happen between them, subtly foreshadowed from the outset. Burke’s clichéd and simple-minded motto (at least in this film) – "nothing is what it seems" – moronically and predictably shapes the outcome.

An enjoyable beginning quickly dissolves into a mix of dull, far-fetched situations and an obligatory car chase scene, which is part of the action-packed finale. "The Recruit" is another formulaic and clichéd commercial enterprise that makes script writing look effortless. It attempts to capitulate on the well-worn government department thriller, where others have succeeded manifold.

I’ve always had a sneaking suspicion that Pacino has limited range, even when playing diverse roles like the Devil and a blind man. In this he has another of his "famous last speeches", and again soaks his role in that recognisable authority and knowingness, which eventually turns farcical here.

Farrell plays his character convincingly for what Clayton is supposed to be – a clever guy who doesn’t know his ability until he goes through the "confidence course" of The Farm, where CIA recruits get trained. He and Pacino are occasionally good together, with Farrell supplying more energy and enthusiasm; Pacino’s performance looks tattered and care-less, like he’s been there all before.

The laughable love story has Bridget Moynahan in a rather contrived relationship with Farrell that is inserted seemingly on the basis of the thriller’s conventions. It sometimes feels more like an episode from Sleepless in Seattle rather than a robust love affair. This is where the chemistry of the two leads in The Bourne Identity made their relationship all the more convincing. Farrell and Moynahan’s love story is pathetically weak, unbelievable, and under-charged, and without real dramatic connection.

"The Recruit" is takeaway food for the undemanding (and be thankful it’s short).