The Recruit

A rookie CIA spook (Colin Farrell) must hunt down a mole within the agency in this supposedly intelligent action-thriller. But throughout the movie Farrell's mentor (Al Pacino) drums home two points--"nothing is what it seems" and "everything is a test"--with such deliberateness that long before any real intrigue begins, a litany of elementary plot twists are stretched out on the screen like a map with big X-marks-the-spot pointers. Ultimately, Farrell spends most of the movie three steps behind any astute viewer, making it hard to believe that he was the one chosen from spy school to go undercover at CIA headquarters to weed out a double agent (prime suspect: his agent-girlfriend, Bridget Moynahan) while pretending to be a washout trainee who settled for a data-entry job. Thirty decently tense minutes take place at a CIA training facility where Farrell and his fellow recruits are put to the test--mentally, psychologically, and physically--but even the most extreme, unexpected scenarios lack the kind of impact they might have had if Pacino hadn't spilled the beans early on with his mantras of mistrust. Very optional. [DVD extras include audio commentary by director Roger Donaldson and star Colin Farrell, a 16-minute “Spy School: Inside the CIA Training Program” featurette and four deleted scenes with optional commentary. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a so-so film.] (R. Blackwelder)[Blu-ray Review—June 10, 2008—Touchstone, 115 min., PG-13, $34.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 2003's The Recruit sports a mostly solid transfer and a 5.1 uncompressed soundtrack. The extras on the disc are identical to the previous DVD release, including audio commentary by director Roger Donaldson and star Colin Farrell, a 16-minute “Spy School: Inside the CIA Training Program” featurette, and four deleted scenes with optional commentary. Bottom line: better looking: yes; better: no.]