The Recruit

Plot synopsis:
James Clayton (Colin Farrell) is constantly looking for information about his father, who presumably had gone missing when Clayton was quite young. While at MIT, Clayton helped to develop a computer program called Sp@rtacus, which turns computer terminals to which it is networked into its slave. The program impresses a grad recruiter for Dell at a career fair, and it appears that Clayton's future is on track.Later that night, Clayton meets Walter Burke (Al Pacino), who he had previously noticed hanging around at the career fair. The two begin talking, during which time Burke reveals that he is a CIA recruiter. Clayton, however, is not interested and Burke walks away, casually revealing to James a familiarity with his father. Clayton becomes intrigued and decides to attend the interview and selection process for the CIA's clandestine service.Upon arriving at the CIA headquarters in Langley, Clayton takes part in numerous assessments including psychometric, numerical reasoning, psychological, psychoanalytical, aptitude, as well as a polygraph test. During the testing he meets fellow recruit Layla Moore (Bridget Moynahan). Having been apparently successful in the selection process, he and the other successful candidates, including Moore, are driven by bus to the CIA training facility, The Farm, where Burke then briefs the candidates on the training regimen and various issues of espionage.Clayton and the other candidates then begin their training in covert ops and intelligence gathering. Throughout the various stages of the training, the instructors become increasingly impressed by Clayton's natural ability in the "black arts" of espionage such as weapons, classroom exercises, and his ingenuity and fast thinking when he manages to escape from a botched training drill by dramatically jumping through a glass window.One night, Burke takes the recruits present (all males) to a nearby bar to conduct a training exercise with one simple objective: to pick up a girl. Clayton appears to do exceedingly well at first, until he spots Moore, alone at a table, apparently quite inebriated. He abandons the girl to whom he was talking and learns from Moore that she was dropped from the program. Clayton offers to call a cab for her as an act of sympathy, but Moore manages to draw him outside where, upon reaching the parking lot with her, Clayton learns that she had a training mission of her own: to prevent him from completing his mission.In another test, Clayton and Moore are paired up for a training exercise in counter-surveillance. During this exercise, the two recruits are kidnapped by men apparently from a foreign intelligence service. Clayton is interrogated for several days in a dungeon-like cell and tortured. He is asked to give up the names of his instructors, but he holds out until one of his interrogators provides evidence that his defiance is contributing not only to his suffering, but also to that of Moore. He yells out Burke's name and suddenly the rear wall of the cell rises up revealing that Burke, Moore, and the other recruits sitting in the lecture theater had witnessed the entire event.Clayton is informed that he has been cut from the program, and he stays in a motel, getting drunk. To Clayton's surprise, Burke arrives in the morning to tell him that he feigned cutting Clayton from the program in order to appoint him as a non-official cover operative. Burke tells Clayton that he was paired with Moore in order to spy on her, as the CIA has evidence that she is a mole for a foreign intelligence service recruited to extract a top secret new computer virus from the CIA. Clayton reluctantly agrees to spy on her and re-establishes contact with Moore, pretending to be a low-level CIA data-entry office worker. During this time, they become romantically involved and the tension is apparent when, after making love, Clayton bugs Moore's coat with a listening device.Clayton eventually uncovers proof that Moore is removing the virus from the CIA piece-by-piece using a USB flash drive concealed in the bottom of a thermal coffee mug. He follows her to uncover the identities of her contacts and winds up pursuing one contact through a train station. The identity of the contact is concealed by his hooded jumper until Clayton shoots and kills him in a scuffle. Layla's contact turns out to be another CIA agent who had been a recruit with Clayton and Moore at The Farm. Clayton escapes the scene and confronts Moore with evidence of her treachery, demanding an explanation. She explains that, in fact, she and the now dead agent had been commissioned by the CIA to test the security protocols of the facility by attempting to remove a "fake" virus. By virtue of his familiarity with computer programs, however, Clayton suspects differently and confronts Burke (Pacino) with these contradictions at an abandoned warehouse. Burke, at first, congratulates Clayton on passing his final test. The virus, he says, was not real, nor is the agent dead. Burke invites Clayton to shoot him with a gun he supplied Clayton with, claiming it is only filled with blanks. A tense moment ensues and Burke knocks the gun away, shooting out a car window.Burke chases Clayton through a warehouse, boasting that he organized the scheme in order to sell the virus. He also shatters Clayton's hopes about his father by saying that the story that his father was a CIA agent was only a ruse to trick James into befriending Burke. Clayton agrees to give Burke the laptop containing the completed virus, and shows Burke the screen running his own software program Spartacus, apparently relaying Burke's entire confession back to CIA headquarters. Burke becomes incensed, chasing Clayton outside, where a CIA SWAT team has assembled to track them down. Unknown to Burke (Pacino), however, Clayton's (Farrell's) link to the CIA was a fake. The CIA had no knowledge of Burke's treachery and was there to arrest Clayton. Not knowing this, Burke rails at his unjust treatment by the CIA, and the CIA agents realize that Burke is the traitor. Upon discovering that he himself had foiled his own plan, he commits suicide-by-cop. Afterward, Layla consoles Clayton before he heads back to Langley for debriefing. On the drive to Langley another CIA employee tells Clayton "you were born to do this, it's in your blood", confirming that his father did in fact work for the CIA.

Tags: revenge, suspenseful, murder, storytelling

Review:
He is the head guy at the CIA training centre, 'the farm,' which Clayton and fellow trainee/love interest Layla Moore (Bridget Moynahan) go through.The movie is good enough to watch but is not entirely riveting.
This is quite a fair way into the movie, though.I love Pacino, and was quite interested in whether Farrell could match him after the promise he showed in 'Minority Report.' Well he does.
In "The Recruit" a computer whiz (Farrell) is recruited to be trained as a CIA operative and ends up playing cat and mole inside the agency while keeping the audience wondering who's "cat" and who's "mole".
1st watched 6/28/2003 - 6 out of 10(Dir-Roger Donaldson): Good spy action thriller with passable performances by the leads Farrell, Pacino and Moynahan.
This isn't quite on-the-edge-of-your-seat material but there is a lot of good information given to you about the CIA to almost make it a how-to type of film at least in the first half.
It is about James Clayton (Colin Farrell) who is recruited by CIA spy Walter Burke (Al Pacino).
The real star in 'Minority Report', the best thing in 'Daredevil' and a great performance in 'Phone Booth', and now a good reason to watch 'The Recruit'.'The Recruit' is entertaining, but one plot twist after another, most of them predictable; it is just a little too much..
I'm not saying it is a masterpiece, but this is still a movie with Al Pacino and Colin Farrell.
Both actors and especially Al Pacino are normally good for some decent fun and some good acting and it wasn't any different in this movie.This movie tells us the story of James Clayton (Colin Farrell), a young computer graduate who is recruited by Walter Burke (Al Pacino) to work for the CIA.
But will his training be enough and was Burke right about the fact that this may well be the best agent ever?This movie is perhaps not the most original thriller ever, but it delivers everything that it is asked for.
It won't change your life, but it will be a well spent couple of hours.And it's true the movie could in theory have had a more sophisticated (ambiguous) ending, but there comes a time, after wading through all the trollop on the market, that one just sinks back and decides to enjoy a better movie for all it's worth.And this is such a movie: directed by the capable Roger Donaldson who directed the taut thriller No Way Out and co-authored by a writer on The Natural, this one keeps going at a brisk pace with excellent editing and super soundtrack from Klaus Badelt of POTC1 fame.
You feel for the protagonists and that's an essential ingredient of any good movie.But Pacino: he's great at whatever he does but is he fated to have secondary roles now?
Walter Burke (Al Pacino) is a CIA recruiter and trainer and invites James to join CIA in Langton farm, using as motivation the disappearance of his father in 1990 in Peru.
Although having many clichés, this film is a great thriller, full of plot points, and in the end, a good entertainment.
When computer hacker and barman James Clayton is approached by CIA recruiter Walter Burke he is enticed by offers of information about his father who died in a plane crash, supposedly in the employment of Shell Oil.
It still has clever bits but I found myself more surprised when things turned out to be what they seemed as opposed the twist I was waiting for.Pacino is really good in the lead as he gets to play a mysterious sort of teacher type.
There were so many implausibilities in this film to relate, but I'll stick to one: we are asked to believe it plausible that *elite spies* would believe that someone who graduated "top of his class at MIT", and who clearly has what it takes to earn "200K a year and live a nice life", and who has failed to become a spy would take a *data entry job* at CIA headquarters.Further, the technical aspects of the film are incredibly implausible: why make a techno-thriller when you can't even bluster a realistic maguffin?
All three of the main performers, that is, Al Pacino, Bridget Moynahan and Colin Farrell are merely passable (yes, Pacino does his trademark shouting in the end but this time it's funny, unintentionally).
I really like Al Pacino, and he and the whole cast, really, were good but even Al's ever-cool presence, and decent acting overall is NOT enough to make up for all the painfully horrible things about this movie.
He wants to find out what happened to his father so he goes along with a plot to fish out a mole in the organization.Somewhere in the distant past someone had the the (not so) bright idea that if Al Pacino can play such a Mephistopolean character as Michael Corleone then he can go on playing variations of the devil until the end of his days.
Farrell, whom I genuinely believe to be one of the best young actors in the movies today, does his best but you know his heart isn't in it.Just before this movie, the director, Roger Donaldson, made a great film called "Thirteen Days" about the Cuban Missile Crisis, not to mention "The Bounty" and "No Way Out".
Which is unfortunate since "The Recruit" has an interesting premise, is well acted especially by Colin Farrell and Bridget Moynahan, and maintains suspense throughout.
Colin Farrell is an up and coming star that has done some great work, and I expect to see more out of him in the future.Bridget Moynahan has come a long way and she is also very good in this film.If you like suspense, and want to know more about the inner workings of the CIA, then this film should be in your queue."All I know about the CIA is that they're a bunch of fat, old white guys who fell asleep when we needed them most.".
There are no doubts that this trio started with better intentions, but the finished product doesn't amount to a satisfying movie.Al Pacino, as the recruiter, plays a sly role here.
Bridget Moynahan is Layla, a mysterious recruit who might be working for the wrong side.While the film is very keeps one's imagination going, it demands a more logical ending, or at least something one can feel not being let down by its false resolution..
The ending must have been done, at least, a thousand times before.A couple of things that strikes you while watching the film are that: Pacino is in it strictly for the money.
The CIA must have a new change in tactics regarding their operatives, as they try to draw as much attention to themselves as possible, rather than trying to blend in (Pacino's blind character in Scent of a Woman would have done a better job at being inconspicuous).The Recruit is a crappy film, masquerading as something better with a glossy surface and 1.5 big names.
There is a major inconsistence (which I will not reveal but I commented on it on the message board) and at the end you remain with one question: "why was this movie made?" it does not have a meaning and the plot is so dumb that I found it insulting to intelligence.Also, if you are offended (as I am) by statements like "there is good and evil in this world and we are the good" or "information sometimes is more important than human lives" then don't watch this movie: you'll get angry..
Director Roger Donaldson ("No Way Out" and "Cocktail", among others) does a nice job of capturing CIA training on "the farm", but the movie falls apart at the end with a cheap device to solve the movie..
But Clayton is soon approached by a CIA recruiter named Walter Burke(Al Pacino).
Loved Colin Farrell and "Everything is a test." Whilst the ending was kind of predictable it was still a great film with an outstanding performance by Farrell, and Pacino is always good.
CIA mentor Burke (Pacino) recruits a talented computer marvel, Clayton(Farrell) to CIA, to find the mole in the organization, but where he goes there's a surprise waiting for him!.
I like the upcoming star Colin Farrell and does justice for the movie the recruit.
I don't want to tell what the movie is about but it's very good with lots of twists and plot points.
The plot primarily involves a young CIA recruit who is given an assignment to find a mole in the agency.It has some suspense, some thrilling action scenes, but as stated before, it's really nothing spectacular.7/10.
James Clayton (Colin Farrell) is recruited to become a CIA agent by Walter Burke (Al Pacino).
Colin Farrell stars as the titular character in The Recruit, a young man hopeful to join the CIA.
The cast is solid with Colin Farrell impressing as Clayton and Al Pacino being solid as Burke; Bridget Moynahan also impresses as Layla even if her role is smaller than that of the two leading men.
It's Burke who suspects that she's in fact a spy for the other side-Russia China Iran or maybe North Korea- who's using her position to get important and critical computer information to the nation that she's spying for.***SPOILERS**** Like in most modern spy movie no one knows what's going on and on who's side their on their or working for until the films final moments.
Bridget Moynahan also turns in a good performance as a potential love interest for Farrell's character.Thus, I highly recommend "The Recruit" to any and all fans of action/thrillers.
My other issue is that Al Pacino's character is very poorly written, I get that he is suppose to be a mysterious man, but we never end up really finding anything out about him, he gives Farrell certain pieces of information about his past, but it is then suggested later on that everything he said could have been a lie, I found this very frustrating and I think that since he was such a blank canvas that Pacino dosen't get to deliver the performance we know he can give, this certainly isn't another Scent of a Woman, that's for sure.
Bridget Moynahan is first-rate, matching up-to Pacino & Farrell at every step.On the wholes, 'The Recruit' works, despite some flaws.
Great leads in Al Pacino & Colin Farrell who spar off well against each other with good chemistry.The story follows a young computer whiz/bartender (Farrell) who is recruited by (Pacino) to join the CIA.
All is not as it seems though and the second half sees Farrell go undercover to expose the mole within, have bit of romance, try to figure out how his dad was involved and again everything is not as you'd expect.I did enjoy this movie, (Colin Farrell helped) however even with all the twists and turns it ended up being quite predictable.
That being said, this is still rather entertaining and an above-average spy thriller thanks to great acting and a strong screenplay.Roger Donaldson's film takes us into the CIA as senior instructor Walter Burke recruits a young MIT computer-programmer named James Clayton to take part in testing to join the CIA.
The young Colin Farrell does a good job in his role as well.Overall, The Recruit is your average spy thriller but it does a good job on setting up the premise.
He's on the game.A young man, James Clayton (Colin Farrell) is targeted as a new CIA recruit by old CIA veteran Walter Burke (Al Pacino), which lures him interested because of his longing to know more about his long lost dad.
Al Pacino is good, Colin Farrell too, so are he rest.
The story is (for a spy movie) believable enough to watch it without making fun of it, which is great.
CIA trainer Walter Burke (Al Pacino) recruits James Douglas Clayton (Colin Farrell).
While training at The Farm, James falls for fellow recruit Layla Moore (Bridget Moynahan).This movie is divided in 2.
But like that other amazing Italian-American actor, Robert DeNiro, Pacino has developed the bad habit of acting in substandard films.Which brings me onto 'The Recruit'.
Al Pacino's in it, but we're actually following Colin Farrell, who plays James Clayton.
James is a brilliant young CIA trainee who is asked by his mentor Walter Burke – that's Pacino – to find and stop a mole in the Agency.It's probably a bit harsh of me to say 'The Recruit' is substandard.
Not quite 'In Bruges', but still strong.While the idea of CIA training and top-secret recruiting is exciting, it doesn't quite translate into a great film.
Colin Farrell, Al Pacino and Bridget Moynihan star in "The Recruit," a 2003 film directed by Roger Donaldson.
Farrell plays a young man recruited by the CIA in the person of Pacino; while training at Langley, he gets close to another trainee (Moynihan).
It was like another mass produced Hollywood movie with well known actors Colin Farrel and Al Pacino, but frankly did not see much substance in the film as it seemed too artificial for the most part.
Clayton is then given a special assignment, to root out a suspected mole that has infiltrated the Agency.an era when the country's first line of defense, intelligence, is more important than ever, comes an explosive thriller starring Al Pacino and Colin Farrell that for the first time opens the CIA's infamous closed doors and gives an insider's view into the Agency: how trainees are recruited, how they are prepared for the spy game, and what they learn to survive.
James Clayton (Farrell) might not have the attitude of a typical recruit, but he is one of the smartest graduating seniors in the country - and he's just the person that Walter Burke (Pacino) wants in the Agency.
Al Pacino is great as the supposedly heroic CIA instructor and Colin Farrell does a pretty good job as James Clayton who was recruited by Pacino.
The plot goes pretty good and is thrilling enough to interested people who like thrillers.
The entire first hour is just establishing the characters and the backstory.Hollywood spy movies have become a game of which film can have the most plot twists.
If you're looking for a good spy thriller with intelligent characters, and reasonable plot scenarios, go rent Three Days of the Condor, or even Roger Donaldson's own No Way Out..
A new recruit to the CIA is eventually asked to find the "mole" in the organization and it is that "cat and mouse" game which makes this movie so utterly stupid.
It's enjoyable enough, so long as you don't think about it.James Clayton (Colin Farrell) is a software designer who gets a shot at joining the CIA from veteran recruiter Walter Burke (Al Pacino).
And what about that cute agent, Layla Moore (Bridget Moynahan), that James meets at "The Farm" (the name of the CIA training center, which provides the film with it's best scenes)?
To give it credit, it keeps the same low level of tension going right to the end, which is more than you can say for a lot of films.As others of said, this was one bad Al Pacino performance too far for me.
Also Pacino's character is none too subtle shouting about making Farrell a CIA agent in a busy street and making big reveal all speeches at the end of the show, the Number 2 don't-do-rule of film world villains.
Farrell's love interest in the movie is good and their chemistry works on screen, unlike the story..
I am a big Pacino fan and he comes off great in this movie as usual.
The initial idea is good as no other film has really looked at the CIA training process, and it definitely keeps your attention throughout.
The opposite may just be the biggest flaw in the Recruit, a film that gives us half a film about training to become an employee of the CIA when the audience knows that star Collin Farrell will surely pass all of his tests.
Colin Farrell stars as James Clayton, a sort of pre-Mission Impossible Ethan Hunt, who is being Recruited by Walter Burke (Al Pacino) to become a CIA operative.
A good part of the movie is Farrell and his fellow recruits being taught Spy "trade craft" at the CIA "Farm."  It's at this point where the movie starts to bounce in several different directions with "everything not what it seems" to the point where it gets hard to care.
And after watching Al Pacino's latest film, The Recruit, you'd also learn that for a CIA trainee, nothing is what it seems.
James Clayton (Colin Farrell) is one of the top prospects in a new crop of CIA recruits.
Clayton is then given a special assignment: to root out a suspected mole that has infiltrated the agency.Though Colin Farrell (Hart's War, Minority Report) is the lead character in this spy drama, Pacino clearly receives top billing on this film, and it shows.
If you love spy films and action, this movie's definitely for you.
This film has all the criteria I look for in a good movie:  good acting, well-paced action, and an interesting plot with a few twists added to keep you guessing.
But is he recruiting or manipulating the new guy?Pacino dominates the film like the excellent actor that he is.
He is both forceful and suggestive, which when one thinks about it, are the perfect character traits of a successful agent.Colin Farrell plays the young recruit being mentored by Pacino, and he hands in a very good performance.
He's not the star of this movie despite top billing, but he does seem destined for stardom.Bridget Moynahan plays Farrell's love interest at the Farm, the place where agents are trained.
"The Recruit" is O.K. entertainment, but the CIA theme seems a little over used, and if you've seen or read enough spy novel stuff, you may find yourself out guessing the plot.