James Clayton (Colin Farrell) graduated at the top of his class at MIT and is about to launch a career as a computer wizard. But this talented young man seems to be permanently fixated on the past. His father died in a mysterious plane crash in Peru years ago while working for an oil company. James has gone over everything connected with the event and still has come up empty. Then he meets Walter Burke (Al Pacino), a wily, cynical, and seasoned veteran of the CIA who wants to recruit him. What does this officer see in him? James is very smart and loves games. He takes the offer and shows up at "the Farm" in Virginia with other spook recruits.

As their teacher, Burke clues them in to his own set of rules, including "Trust no one" and "Nothing is what it seems." James proves to be a focused learner as he's subjected to a battery of physical and psychological tests. In one, he has to decide whether he'd rather ride on a train, dance in the rain, or feel no pain. Burke surmises that the new recruits aren't there for money, sex, or fame. Then what? "We believe in good and evil. We choose good." Welcome to a dualistic world where enemies are everywhere, and they must be ferreted out by deception, technological tools, and the manipulation of their minds. Burke presides over a kingdom of secrets. He reels James in by telling him that his father worked for the CIA and "it's in your blood."

James manages to keep awake through all the tests but gets sidetracked by romantic feelings for Layla (Bridget Moynahan), a fellow recruit who seems to be very close to Zack (Gabriel Macht), a former Florida cop. But trying to get to know her in the midst of target practice, planting bugs, and undergoing interrogation sessions is not easy. In one of the many twists and turns in the screenplay by Roger Towne, Kurt Wimmer, and Mitch Glazer, James is kicked off the Farm and then told by Burke that he's really become one of the elite because of his special qualities. His new assignment is to go undercover at CIA headquarters in Langley and feret out a double agent.

Roger Donaldson directs this thriller, and he's had plenty of practice with previous dramas about the White House (Thirteen Days) and the Pentagon (No Way Out). Al Pacino gobbles up the screen as Burke, a moody and quirky spook. He's convincing as the father figure that James so desperately yearns for. Colin Farrell has just the right mix of youthful arrogance and physical intensity for the role of the computer wiz who finds himself propelled on a path of multiple deceptions and frequent dangers. The closing scenes are disappointing yet The Recruit shows just what's in store for those who see themselves as good crusaders in a world filled with evil doers.


The DVD edition contains some deleted scenes, an audio commentary with star Colin Farrell and director Roger Donaldson, and a featurette about the CIA training program.

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