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This slick, enjoyable spy flick may well be remembered as
the first star vehicle for the Irish actor Colin Farrell.
He plays James Clayton, an MIT grad who’s recruited into the
the C.I.A. by an especially charismatic instructor to follow
in his father’s footsteps. Since appearing in Joel Schumacher’s
Tigerland a few years ago, Farrell has been in high
demand. He did a solid job in last summer’s Minority Report
and he’s set for the role of Bullseye in the upcoming Daredevil.
In The Recruit Farrell is in almost every scene, and
he fills it up nicely. Hyped as not just another pretty face,
he gives another finely nuanced performance in this otherwise
by-the-numbers spook film. Darkly handsome, he has a brooding
manner and soulful eyes that dart around in a way that suggests
a lively mind.
Al Pacino gives us a familiar performance as cool-as-they-come
C.I.A. veteran and recruiter, Walter Burke. His slogan is
“Nothing is as it seems,” and he leads Farrell and the other
recruits through a series of tasks designed test their abilities
and endurance. Pacino makes for a particularly smug taskmaster,
when perhaps the character would have been better served by
a quieter performance and a bit more of an avuncular touch,
but Al’s in his Devil’s Advocate mode throughout the
entire movie. He’s an actor who became a star: Al Pacino plays
Al Pacino the way John Wayne played John Wayne, and
Cary Grant played Cary Grant. He hasn’t really stretched
since Donnie Brasco and it’s now hard to recognize
this as the same man gave those slow simmering performances
as Michael Corleone. Not that Al’s not watchable any more.
He still has enough charisma to fill the screen, but it’s
hard to imagine hiring this flamboyant gasbag he plays to
keep secrets.
Director Roger Donaldson keeps things moving smoothly
enough, but there’s nothing that stands out. The training,
the snooping, the car chase, the overly cutesy ending, nothing
will really stay with you for more than a week. He’s helped
out by some sharp dialogue from the writers and Bridget
Moynahan sparkles as Farrell’s love interest, another
recruit whom Burke pegs as a mole. The film evokes the great,
underappreciated thriller No Way Out, but never matches
that film’s intensity or powerfully woven paranoia.
All in all, The Recruit may be as generic as its title
and trailers suggest, but in this, the lean season for movies,
it provides enough talent and thrills to keep you awake.
—Edward Rholes
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