The dark and chaotic world of espionage portrayed in the new
movie
”
The Recruit,
”
currently playing at Premiere Cinemas, almost makes James Bond
look like Ozzie and Harriet.
The dark and chaotic world of espionage portrayed in the new movie “The Recruit,” currently playing at Premiere Cinemas, almost makes James Bond look like Ozzie and Harriet.
Strong performances from rising young star Colin Farrell (“Minority Report,” “Hart’s War” and “American Outlaw”) and screen legend Al Pacino (“The Godfather,” “Serpico” “Scent of A Woman”) anchor this fast-paced look into the seamy underbelly of working as an undercover operative for the CIA.
Director Roger Donaldson (“Cocktail,” “No Way Out” and Dante’s Peak”) did a good job of keeping the movie moving at a quick pace, and he did it all without tipping his hand in the stories continual shifts and plot twists. Donaldson’s crisp editing keeps audiences near the edge of their seats.
But the meat of the story lies in two relationships – one between Farrell’s character, James Clayton, one of the smartest graduating seniors in the country, and Pacino’s character, special agent Walter Burke.
Despite his intellect and social savvy, he has a deep-rooted need to learn more about his father and how he died.
Burke, a highly experienced and successful agent, toys with Clayton’s mind as he convinces him to join the CIA. Once there, Burke closely supervises Clayton’s training and his interaction with other recruits at the training center known as “The Farm.”
Burke gives Clayton two pieces of advice that serve him well throughout the rest of the movie. The main piece of advice is “Nothing is what it seems.” The second is an operative’s primary goal: “Acquire an asset, work the asset and then turn them.”
Burke repeatedly uses the last piece of advice against Clayton as he dangles the promise of information about his father over Clayton’s head like a carrot on a stick.
The other important relationship in this story is Clayton’s connection to an attractive female recruit named Layla, played by Bridget Moynahan (“Coyote Ugly,” “Serendipity” and “Sum of All Fears.”) Sparks fly when Clayton and Layla meet and start to fall for each other – a no-no in the spy world.
This is a good movie. It falls short of being great, but most people will enjoy watching this cloak-and-dagger thriller.
