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The Recruit starring Colin Farrell, Al Pacino and Bridget Moynahan. Image via delusionrealm.com

James Clayton (Colin Farrell) graduates from MIT at the top of his class. He is a whiz about computer programs but Walter Burke (Al Pacino) is about to offer him a whole new opportunity instead of working for Dell or another big company. Walter is a recruiting for CIA and he is certain James would be a great spy. James is indecisive but the fun training, the coolness of the job and hot intern Layla’s (Bridget Moynahan) presence are more than enough to make up his mind. And of course there is the thing that his father might have been an agent as well.

However as days progress, stress climbs up. The training is very severe and not all of the newbies will get to stay. It doesn’t help James that Walter has already spotted his fascination with Layla and the fact that Layla doesn’t seem indifferent either. So he uses this observation to make things tougher on James, as one day he might get to be a fantastic agent.

The problem is James ends up being a pawn in a game where Walter writes the script. Just when he thinks he survived the hard part, Walter assigns him his toughest task: to spy on Layla. She has graduated the program and works for CIA but Walter is certain she is a mole. But how the hell can a former newbie successfully spy on the girl he is mad about, who also got the same extensive spy training as he did?

I love spy/agent films. I love to watch the cat-mouse game, the plot twists and see what great casting has been done this time. I absolutely had a blast watching Tom Cruise’s Knight and Day, and I loved watching Jennifer Garner’s CIA adventures in Alias. Matt Damon performed brilliantly in The Good Shepherd and we all had fun watching him as Jason Bourne. While I am waiting for Angelina’s Salt, I decided to take a look at 2003’s The Recruit. And while I love Al Pacino and starting to become a Colin Farrell fan (he has my respect after all his diversity and the intensity of his roles), I was first attracted to this movie because one of the screenwriters is Kurt Wimmer, the guy who wrote&directed Equilibrium and wrote Law Abiding Citizen, two impressive action/thriller movies with great dramatic undertones. And Kurt didn’t disappoint.

The Recruit is fun and entertaining and full of exciting twists. Sure, you can some of them from a mile away but it is one of those movies where predictability entertains rather than disappoints. Colin Farrell portrays the innocence and “rookiness” of his character perfectly and a really interesting and fun character to watch. Layla keeps us wondering whether she is the bad guy and Gabriel Macht has a small but important role as their classmate/ex cop.

Yes, this is not a life-changing movie. It is not mind-bending. It is just so bloody fun. Rated at 6.5 on IMDB.. Strongly recommended to spy movies lovers, Al Pacino and Colin Farrell fans. Written by Kurt Wimmer, Robert Towne and Mitch Glazer. Directed by Roger Donaldson.

8/10 for the entertainment

7/10 for the overall movie.

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Gary as himself,probably during Batman times

So your friends adore him and think he is a terrific actor.You have seen him in Leon and saw that in deed he can pull “psycho” off very well.You see him in a bunch of other movies and realize he is talented. But you also tend to” forget his face”. What I mean is, Gary in JFK looks nothing like the Gary in Murder in the First.Is he really in The Contender too? And you appreciate his acting more. His voice differs,his expressions change.Why am I talking about him like I have never seen any other actor do it? Well,frankly I have never seen an actor to transform so utterly without the help of the renowned make-up artist Rick Baker! Wanna challenge me on that? Cool. Let’s take Robert De Niro. He is an amazing actor. But I don’t think I’m the only one who finds his roles a little too familiar? How many times have we seen him as the ex- macho/horribly dangerous who will destroy you in a second guy ending up in a funny situation? (Meet the Parents, Meet the Fockers, Analyze This, Analyze That, Showtime…) or the mobster? Yes, I respect him. I have seen Cape Fear and all that. But he tends to repeat himself. All actors do at some point, I guess. Frankly,recently he has only pleasantly surprised me was in Stardust. I have seen so many of his movies,spread out in over 4 decades but I hadn’t seen the facial expressions and physical comedy he performs in Stardust. Totally different role,totally different guy. Kudos to De Niro.

Let’s get back to Oldman though.He is barely recognizable- all the time!

Actors get into a variety of styles. Brad Pitt plays in Fight Club and Meet Joe Black. Have you seen him in Legends of the Fall? But it is so obviously Brad Pitt. Di Caprio can play the pretty Romeo and then a CIA agent under cover in Middle East, perfectly mixed with the locals. His accents change, not his voice. His clothes change, not exactly his mannerisms. And this is not exactly a bad thing…I am just stating an observation.

Al Pacino was unrecognizable in what movie exactly?Maybe I should post pictures of him in particular roles for the sake of visualization. Think Scarface. Think the Godfather. Think Frankie and Johnny. Think The Devil’s advocate. He is terrific but he is obviously Al.

Now; back to Gary:

?n The Unborn — The Unborn: The movie might be bad, but Gary never fails his role.

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