Incannerax What a waste of my time!!!

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Siflutter It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Leoni Haney Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

FilmBuff1994 The Recruit is a decent movie with a well developed storyline and a talented cast. It's a fun ride that is quite thrilling, as we're taken on a journey with Colin Farrell's character, seeing him trying to discover what's really going on with his investigation for the CIA, it will certainly keep your attention from start to finish. It could have been a seven or eight, but I had to give this movie a six because it is jam packed with problems, the biggest one is that there are way too many twists, the characters perspectives of what they're going changes constantly, to a degree that it gets way too predictable, when one shocking twist comes along, it gets more and more obvious that another one is soon to come. 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. It's an enjoyable film despite being heavy on flaws, and I would recommend the Recruit if you ever see it on television and there is nothing else on, but you definitely shouldn't go out of your way to see it. A highly promising CIA trainee catches the eye of an agency veteran who begins to act as his mentor. Best Performance: Colin Farrell Worst Performance: Bridget Moynahan

juneebuggy This was pretty good. A thriller(ish) movie with a very twisty storyline; who's the spy, who's the mole, who's working who, what's a test? 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. We then watch 'James' go through some (brief) yet intimate training at The Farm (which I liked), get all flirty, flirty with a fellow student (Bridget Moynahan) and then flunk out after a brutal hostage taking exercise exposes his weaknesses. 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. The viewer is never sure who is working who and begins to doubt everyone so that by the time you get to the big twist at the end its not all that surprising. 2/9/15

CinefanR Al Pacino is the main reason to watch "The Recruit". The second would be his pairing with C. Farrell in this mentor- student relationship that is entirely predictable, but still fun to watch due to their on screen chemistry. The script is average and it has its embarrassing moments (why do we have to learn that Pacino's character urinates like a racehorse every two hours?!), and the second half of the film drags as a result of Pacino's absence. When he's off screen, the whole thing is a bore, since it's him that holds it together. The man can read a telephone book and make it sound interesting.'Pacino – The Mentor' works every time, and we just don't have enough of that, even if it has developed into a genre of its own. Here he's just showing off, obviously having a good time as the seasoned, jaded CIA senior officer playing his tricks on young minds. Farrell puts on quite a show as the impressionable and naïve student, so 'The Recruit' is enjoyable despite the formulaic development. There is no suspense in this flick whatsoever, but the "Pacino – Farrell" duo gets 10 stars.

ahzoov I'm going to jump right to the chase in this review, so SPOILER ALERT! The ending left me with nagging questions. Supposedly, James Clayton was born to be a spook (it's in his blood), so how come he can't tell a gun loaded with blanks from one loaded with real bullets. He even checked the magazine. We have to assume he knows what real bullets look like, or what the kick from real bullets feels like when he pulls the trigger. And if his instinct is so utterly perfect, why wouldn't have have known that the gun was empty by the final scene and thwarted Burke's attempt to commit suicide by "cop?" We all know that the keener spooks, cops, and detectives count the shots. They've been doing it for years (at least in Hollywood).But the overall hole in the plot was: why was Clayton even given the assignment by Burke in the first place if all Burke wanted was the "Ice Nine" program code? He'd convinced Layla and Zack to pull off the theft of the code so why on earth would he need to have Clayton stop them? Every reason I've come up to explain this "intrigue" ends in the conclusion that he'd have to kill everyone involved anyway to get away with the caper in the end.As far as those who've said that the plot was too convoluted with too many twists and turns, well, this is the world of espionage and as the movie stated, nothing is what it seems. However, as a person with critical thinking ability, I discerned that too much was either overlooked or ignored, or the producers just went with the script hoping viewers would buy a "just OK" movie.I had been planning on giving it an 8 up until the last 10 minutes and then everything just went south for me. The Jason Borne series puts this type of project to shame.