The Recruit
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Movie Reviews of The Recruit
Movie Review: very good movie
Summary: 5 Stars
pacino shines in this movie with many twist and turns, that have you in constant guessing.Movie Review: 3.5 stars, actually...
Summary: 4 Stars
There is a term I use in cinema. It is called "Vizzini's Law." The sharpest of movie buffs will pick up on the obvious reference to Wallace Shawn's character in "The Princess Bride" (1987). I use Vizzini's Law when a film manipulates the audience into thinking things will either a) happen, or b) not happen. In "The Princess Bride," Shawn's character gives a speech to Cary Elwes' Westley, where he explains that Westley wants him to think poison is in a certain goblet of wine. "Now, a clever man would put the poison into his own goblet, because he would know that only a great fool would reach for what he was given. I am not a great fool, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you. But you must have known I was not a great fool, you would have counted on it, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me!" His speech goes on. The point of it is that Vizzini must deduce what Westley wants him to think from the mess. And I use this reference when a film does the same as Westley. It pulls the audience's leg so many times, the audience loses count of which one is being pulled. They have to wonder what the filmmakers WANT us to think, then realize that the conclusion of the mess is the OPPOSITE of what they want us to think. Or is it?
Some films that use Vizzini's Law are ignorant and become irritable. But Roger Donaldson's "The Recruit" is far from boring, irritable, or ignorant. Sometimes the twists and turns are obvious, but most of the time they are more fun. It's not an especially wonderful thriller, but it's enjoyable, and will welcome a second-viewing to pick up on missed tidbits.
The film is about a mentor and his student. Al Pacino the mentor, Colin Farrell the student. Farrell is James Clayton, a computer whiz-kid who turns down an offer from Dell Computers to become a CIA agent with help from instructor Al Pacino. These set-up scenes move a bit too quickly at times to catch, but I suppose you just need to be able to pick up on certain things.
Clayton goes to "The Farm," a CIA training/recruiting facility that teaches the government's up-and-coming finest what to do. Like go into a bar and come back with women. Right. I doubt the CIA wastes taxpayers' money on such games. But it's fun to watch. As Pacino's character Walter Burke tells Clayton, "Trust no one. Nothing is what it seems." This applies to the scene I mention.
The film takes a lot of twists and turns, so many that it probably makes "Memento" look pale. But "Memento" had clever twists, and "The Recruit" has somewhat expected ones. It's not a particularly special film, there's no doubt about it. But it's a heckuva lot of fun to watch, even if its running time is a bit too long. (Only two hours? Felt like two and a half.)
I noticed that the film takes too long in scenes that don't matter, and speeds things up in scenes that do. Take the beginning and the end, for instance. The middle, though entertaining, is very slow-paced, and you can't expect to doze off during it. You might miss a twist.
Al Pacino is a real scene-stealer here, containing a lot of charisma. He uses a lot of recycled actions and cliched dialogue, but it's fun to watch Pacino take a light-hearted character. People criticized Pacino's (performance in) "S1m0ne." I embraced it. I embraced "The Recruit" even more. No one actor can be expected to come up with Oscar-winners every year, and Pacino knows it, plays to it, and has fun. His character is ruff, tough and gruff, and looks shaggy and unhygienic. He's looking a lot like Serpico with the beard.
Collin Farrell is a talented young actor, and I expect him to go pretty far. He's a lot better than some of the up-and-coming-now-they're-here-and-there's-nothing-you-can-do-about-it (cough-BEN AFFLECK-cough) actors. I enjoy him on screen, much more so than Affleck. Instead of playing the baddie Bullseye in Daredevil, perhaps he should have played the main character himself.
If you're looking for some sly espionage thrills, pick up "The Recruit." It plays like "Spy Games," "The Bourne Identity," and a Jack Ryan movie. Well, not really. But it's fun. And according to Vizzini's Law, it's a winner.
Movie Review: 3.5 stars, actually...
Summary: 4 Stars
There is a term I use in cinema. It is called "Vizzini's Law." The sharpest of movie buffs will pick up on the obvious reference to Wallace Shawn's character in "The Princess Bride" (1987). I use Vizzini's Law when a film manipulates the audience into thinking things will either a) happen, or b) not happen. In "The Princess Bride," Shawn's character gives a speech to Cary Elwes' Westley, where he explains that Westley wants him to think poison is in a certain goblet of wine. "Now, a clever man would put the poison into his own goblet, because he would know that only a great fool would reach for what he was given. I am not a great fool, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you. But you must have known I was not a great fool, you would have counted on it, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me!" His speech goes on. The point of it is that Vizzini must deduce what Westley wants him to think from the mess. And I use this reference when a film does the same as Westley. It pulls the audience's leg so many times, the audience loses count of which one is being pulled. They have to wonder what the filmmakers WANT us to think, then realize that the conclusion of the mess is the OPPOSITE of what they want us to think. Or is it?
Some films that use Vizzini's Law are ignorant and become irritable. But Roger Donaldson's "The Recruit" is far from boring, irritable, or ignorant. Sometimes the twists and turns are obvious, but most of the time they are more fun. It's not an especially wonderful thriller, but it's enjoyable, and will welcome a second-viewing to pick up on missed tidbits.
The film is about a mentor and his student. Al Pacino the mentor, Colin Farrell the student. Farrell is James Clayton, a computer whiz-kid who turns down an offer from Dell Computers to become a CIA agent with help from instructor Al Pacino. These set-up scenes move a bit too quickly at times to catch, but I suppose you just need to be able to pick up on certain things.
Clayton goes to "The Farm," a CIA training/recruiting facility that teaches the government's up-and-coming finest what to do. Like go into a bar and come back with women. Right. I doubt the CIA wastes taxpayers' money on such games. But it's fun to watch. As Pacino's character Walter Burke tells Clayton, "Trust no one. Nothing is what it seems." This applies to the scene I mention.
The film takes a lot of twists and turns, so many that it probably makes "Memento" look pale. But "Memento" had clever twists, and "The Recruit" has somewhat expected ones. It's not a particularly special film, there's no doubt about it. But it's a heckuva lot of fun to watch, even if its running time is a bit too long. (Only two hours? Felt like two and a half.)
I noticed that the film takes too long in scenes that don't matter, and speeds things up in scenes that do. Take the beginning and the end, for instance. The middle, though entertaining, is very slow-paced, and you can't expect to doze off during it. You might miss a twist.
Al Pacino is a real scene-stealer here, containing a lot of charisma. He uses a lot of recycled actions and cliched dialogue, but it's fun to watch Pacino take a light-hearted character. People criticized Pacino's (performance in) "S1m0ne." I embraced it. I embraced "The Recruit" even more. No one actor can be expected to come up with Oscar-winners every year, and Pacino knows it, plays to it, and has fun. His character is ruff, tough and gruff, and looks shaggy and unhygienic. He's looking a lot like Serpico with the beard.
Collin Farrell is a talented young actor, and I expect him to go pretty far. He's a lot better than some of the up-and-coming-now-they're-here-and-there's-nothing-you-can-do-about-it (cough-BEN AFFLECK-cough) actors. I enjoy him on screen, much more so than Affleck. Instead of playing the baddie Bullseye in Daredevil, perhaps he should have played the main character himself.
If you're looking for some sly espionage thrills, pick up "The Recruit." It plays like "Spy Games," "The Bourne Identity," and a Jack Ryan movie. Well, not really. But it's fun. And according to Vizzini's Law, it's a winner.
Movie Review: Deceit, Deception and Destruction
Summary: 4 Stars
Al Pacino in one of his best roles as world weary, cynical, sardonic and burnt out Central Intelligence Agency recruiter. His craggy, wrinkled face show it ALL. A veteran of many covert and clandestine missions internationally, he recruits the hero by mainly playing on his unconfirmed belief that his father was a CIA Intelligence Officer who was KIA in Peru. Filmed on location in Canada where the woods are used to represent The Farm, which is the CIA's training facility in Virginia. Its correct name is Camp P____. Here, the recruit of the movie title learns tradecraft which in spy talk is how you do what spies do. He learns ELINT or electronic intelligence like bugging and so on. The recruit learns too the black arts of killing with bare hands or machine guns. He meets the love interest in the movie who is a fellow recruit. Later, he even bugs her while pretending to be deeply in love with her. The classic scene in the car park is where she says, "..we have 18 seconds before the CCTV surveillenace cameras pick us up." This leads to a super passionate rip your lips off kissing scene which is really well done. The Polygraph scenes are good too. The Polygraph is a a lie detector which Company employees have to undergo periodically. It is not foolproof as traitors uncovered can testify to. The resistance to hostile interrogation scenes are a bit overdone but what the hell, that's Hollywood. A dark, film noir type location is the Washington Navy Yard where everything comes to a head. The climatic scene is a ritual suicide where the bad guy who obviously chooses death before the State Penitentiary (I won't tell you who as it will spoil the suprise) gets cut to pieces with 9mm rounds from Heckler & Koch MP5A2 SMGs fitted with laser sights. In real life, you simply have to shoot to kill because a wounded target is even more dangerous. Moreover, people riddled with bullets have been known to shoot back and kill their opponent, so the 1 shot kill in real life is pretty much a myth (except for pro snipers). Some scenes were really filmed in the old building of The Company headquarters. A fascinating movie, with many thrills, spills, kills, suspense, a beautiful heroine in danger, and much else, what more could you ask for? A nice insight into the world of espionage where people lie routinely, and where nothing is quite what it seems. A world where the love of money often out-motivates the love of country. This is perhaps the reason why Spying is the world's second oldest profession. Enjoy the movie, then go back to your mundane 9 to 5 life, and be happy you are not a spy!Movie Review: The Recruit - Nothing is as it seems...
Summary: 4 Stars
I would definitely have to say that this is quite an intriguing movie with a well thought out plot and acted out well by all concerned. Al Pacino, what can you say about Al Pacino; in every movie he does he's Al Pacino and that's what makes him the brilliant actor he is, change the name of the role, it doesn't matter what and you still have Al Pacino. Colin Farrell does an admirable job in this movie as well as does Bridget Moynahan. The movie purports to be "loaded with twists and turns," which is a statement I will agree with, whether they're suspenseful twists and turns is in the eye of the beholder. The one thing that sets a movie apart from others is that it turns out something new, something that hasn't been seen before. With "The Recruit," yes we get to see "The Farm" which is very interesting in and of itself, but overall, many of the plot twists that are there to "surprise" and raise the level of tension before the payoff, all seem to be somewhat predictable. This is not to say that the film is not enjoyable, because it is, it's just not groundbreaking.
The premise:
Al Pacino plays a CIA recruiter and he sets his sights on Colin Farrell's character for recruitment into the CIA's training program. After some interesting initial scenes, we're taken to "the farm" where we see the main character going through the training program. Where the plot picks up is when he's no longer in the training program and is out on "the mission." What follows, is as stated above, an intriguing movie with some interesting plot twists and turns.
I would definitely recommend this movie as either for the DVD collection or a rental depending on ones purchasing habits. {ssintrepid}
Special Features:
- "Spy School: Inside The CIA Training Program' - Never Before Seen Look Inside the CIA - This is an interesting look at the CIA and the glimpses of the actual training program.
- Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary - There are four somewhat interesting deleted scenes here, what is of interest is the commentary, especially with the continual bleeping as Colin Farrell seems incapable of raising his vocabulary to an acceptable level.
- Feature Commentary With Director Roger Donaldson and Colin Farrell.