The Recruit
Rent & Buy
A brilliant CIA trainee must prove his worth at the Farm, the agency's secret training grounds, where he learns to watch his back and trust no one.
What critics thought
A CIA thriller that works best in its first half, where Pacino and Farrell's mentor-protégé chemistry generates genuine tension, but critics broadly felt the film undoes itself with an overcrowded third act that tips into predictability. The split was less about the cast — generally admired — and more about whether the screenplay earns its twists or collapses under them.
“From the get-go, The Recruit is one of those thrillers that delights in pulling the rug out from under you, only to find another rug below that.”
Owen Gleiberman·Entertainment Weekly
“bring a wary curiosity to their early scenes, with Farrell displaying a palpable hunger for praise and Pacino a corresponding mastery of how to hook somebody by parceling out compliments. They're a swarthier version of Robert Redford and Brad Pitt in Spy Game–only The Recruit is more about mind games.”
Carla Meyer·San Francisco Chronicle
“The whole picture may be hokey, but the first part is agreeably so, the second part not.”
Todd McCarthy·Variety
“Nothing is ever what it seems, but still, nothing's very compelling in The Recruit, a less-than-middling melodrama whose subject matter and talent never click as much as its credits portend.”
Mike Clark·USA Today
Genres
Action, Thriller
Cast & Crew
Roger DonaldsonDirector
Colin FarrellJames Clayton
Al PacinoWalter Burke
Bridget MoynahanLayla Moore
Gabriel MachtZack
Karl PrunerDennis Slayne
Eugene LipinskiHusky Man
Mike RealbaRonnie Gibson
Domenico FioreInstructor #1
Ron LeaDell Rep (Bill Rudolph)
Jeanie CallejaCo-Ed #1
Jessica GrecoBrunette at Blue Ridge
Angelo TsarouchasCab Driver
Klaus BadeltComposer
Kurt WimmerWriter
Stuart DryburghCinematographyThe Recruit
A brilliant CIA trainee must prove his worth at the Farm, the agency's secret training grounds, where he learns to watch his back and trust no one.
What critics thought
A CIA thriller that works best in its first half, where Pacino and Farrell's mentor-protégé chemistry generates genuine tension, but critics broadly felt the film undoes itself with an overcrowded third act that tips into predictability. The split was less about the cast — generally admired — and more about whether the screenplay earns its twists or collapses under them.
“From the get-go, The Recruit is one of those thrillers that delights in pulling the rug out from under you, only to find another rug below that.”
Owen Gleiberman·Entertainment Weekly
“bring a wary curiosity to their early scenes, with Farrell displaying a palpable hunger for praise and Pacino a corresponding mastery of how to hook somebody by parceling out compliments. They're a swarthier version of Robert Redford and Brad Pitt in Spy Game–only The Recruit is more about mind games.”
Carla Meyer·San Francisco Chronicle
“The whole picture may be hokey, but the first part is agreeably so, the second part not.”
Todd McCarthy·Variety
“Nothing is ever what it seems, but still, nothing's very compelling in The Recruit, a less-than-middling melodrama whose subject matter and talent never click as much as its credits portend.”
Mike Clark·USA Today
Genres
Action, Thriller
Cast & Crew
Roger DonaldsonDirectorColin FarrellJames ClaytonAl PacinoWalter BurkeBridget MoynahanLayla MooreGabriel MachtZackKarl PrunerDennis SlayneEugene LipinskiHusky ManMike RealbaRonnie GibsonDomenico FioreInstructor #1Ron LeaDell Rep (Bill Rudolph)Jeanie CallejaCo-Ed #1Jessica GrecoBrunette at Blue RidgeAngelo TsarouchasCab DriverKlaus BadeltComposerKurt WimmerWriterStuart DryburghCinematographyRent & Buy