Top: Pacino and Farrell get down to brass tacks Below: James Clayton (Colin Farrell) might not cut it as an agent, but he maintains an impressive two-day growth throughout The Recruit

Light on action but plot is thick with ...
Twists and U-turns
The Recruit

Stars Colin Farrell, Al Pacino and Bridget Moynahan: Rated M

Reviewer :: The Big Irish Git

Still mourning the sudden and unexplained loss of a loved father after more than 10 years, James Clayton (Farrell), a computer genius in the totally hot, two-day growth mould, is approached by Walter Burke (Pacino), a recruiting agent for the CIA.

Burke has a longstanding reputation among his peers for picking the cream of the crop and, as training progresses, the best among the best.

In Clayton he is as sure as ever he has picked a winner – the NOC – the agent who goes deepest under cover, with no backup, the one who, when caught, is not now and never has been known to the government of the United States of America.

At ‘The Farm’ training progresses as training might, with Clayton living up to expectations.

But, in the fullness of time, a promising career is suddenly and dramatically brought to a premature end when, after resisting gruelling, demeaning and extreme physical torture, the recruit succumbs to the most basic male weakness – feelings for a woman.

After discharge from ‘The Farm’, booze and self-pity are as good hiding places as any.

After taking a few minor, but none too unexpected twists to this point, The Recruit suddenly makes a huge U-turn.

And from here on in, it takes so many unusual, unexpected and dramatic U-turns that, if one were not paying attention, one might be left dazed and bemused wondering exactly which way one was supposed to be facing.

Thankfully, we were awake to every possible twist because I lost count of how many times it was reinforced that ‘nothing is as it seems’ and ‘trust no one’.

The Recruit is full of twists, turns, surprises and intrigue but just a little too light on for action for my liking – so much so that I was bordering on boredom.

On the other hand, Mrs Irish Git was thoroughly entertained and excited by the whole thing.

Or was it Colin Farrell (more fine acting talent from the land of saints and scholars) that turned her on?

And the two-day growth I mentioned earlier – funny how it was exactly the same length day in and day out for the months supposedly spanned by the movie.

That must have been a nightmare for the continuity guy.

The Big Irish Git rates this movie 3 shamrocks

You can view more than 100 other movie reviews by The Big Irish Git on his personal web site www.bigirishgit.com