Director: Roger Donaldson
Stars: Al Pacino, Colin Farrell, Bridget Moynahan, Gabriel Macht, Mike Realba, Dom Fiore, Karl Pruner
Certificate: 12A
Running Time: 115 minutes

The Recruit follows James Clayton, a recent college graduate who has been recruited to the CIA. It follows his training, and his first assignment, whilst putting over a theme that runs throughout: "Nothing is what it seems".

Al Pacino (The Godfather, Scarface, Scent Of A Woman) receives the star billing, playing Agency veteran and recruiter Walter Burke. As can be expected, this sort of role is a walk in the park for Mr Pacino and he strolls through his performance without breaking a sweat, bringing a confident charisma to his on-screen persona. The wily Burke keeps the running theme going, as he keeps his cards very close to his chest, and you never really know what he's up to. There's even time for a scene where Pacino gets to rant away, and get everything off his chest, which seems to be a pre-requisite in his films.

Although Colin Farrell (Tigerland, Daredevil, Phone Booth) is second on the billing, he is the star of the film, and plays the central character. As cocky recruit James Clayton he has a hard time trying to figure out what is happening, as opposed to what seems to be happening, and seems to be knocked down every time he manages to do something right. Farrell sparkles whilst portraying someone who, at times, seems rather reluctant to be the hero, and you know that he's destined for bigger and better things. It's a far cry from his days in Ballykissangel!

Bridget Moynahan (Coyote Ugly, The Sum Of All Fears) plays Layla, who is the love-interest of Clayton, and also a rival recruit, and possible "mole". The two are paired together in training, in what seems to be an attempt to outdo one another. After the training, Clayton's mission is to find out who Layla is passing information to, and bring her in, but remember: "Nothing is what it seems".

The Recruit is a fairly mainstream thriller, with the requisite gunfights, car chase, and rather predictable twist in the tail at the end. It does not focus on any particular political agendas, which given the current situation is a good thing, and just gives you a decent enough bit of entertainment for a couple of hours.