By Melik
What a rush. The Recruit is a nice little roller coaster ride of emotion. This is not your basic two-dimensional action adventure piece. The Recruit actually dares to have characters with depth. The setup is you have a bored highly intelligent young James Clayton played by Colin Farrell that is being sought after by a veteran CIA agent Walter Burke, played by the extraordinary Al Pacino.
Chances are that this is not an accurate portrayal of what life might be like inside the unknown world of the Central Intelligence Agency. Chances are this is not an accurate portrayal of how people enter this prestigious government agency. Chances are stuff like this happens only in movies.
Chances are if you like a little romance with your spy games and a dash of intrigue then you will surely dig this.
Colin Farrell is truly positioning himself as one of the current contenders to reckon with. He is quickly moving himself up the ranks of the Hollywood line of A-list actors. Mr. Farrell’s portrayal of James Clayton gave the character an enigmatic aura of curiosity. The duality of the character was well represented. Mr. Farrell was able to balance the vulnerability of a man dealing with a long time struggle of the loss of his father with the stoic presence of man focused on doing anything necessary to succeed at the mission at hand. The mission is to find the truth but as Mr. Pacino’s character Walter Burke points out many times in the piece is that “nothing is as it seems.”
Al Pacino steadfastly remains a pillar in the movie world. He continues to bring to the screen an edge that can only be matched by a few. Mr. Pacino’s characterization of the resolute Walter Burke is unwavering. Mr. Pacino kept a solid hold on the piece. He was able to drive home the themes of the movie without them becoming boring or stale. Even though his character did not go through significant changes throughout the piece he kept it lively and interesting.
The woman Layla Moore played by Bridget Moynahan might have been the weakest link. However considering whom she was working with it is truly a valiant effort. Ms. Moore’s character brought just enough sexiness to the mix without it being gratuitous.
The bottom line is that the writers Roger Towne, Kurt Wimmer and Mitch Glazer were able to weave an intriguing emotionally filled action adventure piece that has characters that you can feel passionate about. The Recruit is filled with just enough twist and turns to keep you guessing. It is done in a way that keeps you interested without being too confusing. If you have not seen this one yet, I say what are you waiting for? Go be entertained.
That’s my word for what’s on the screen. I’m Melik; you can check me out each Wednesday night on the TV show Time Slot at 6:30 PM on AT&T Broadband channel 16 in the little L. A. Michigan viewing area. That’s the Reel Deal, y’all.
March 23, 2003 – April 5, 2003 Edition
