As such it is very self contained and never really wanders outside it's parameters and even the computer programme that makes up the second half is never given a global view. I thought it may have some subversive comments to make about the role of the CIA in this post 9-11 world but it is very straight. The main thing to know is that this is a very mainstream thriller. With two real good names at the head of the cast this was an easy draw for me I wanted to see it before I even knew what it was about and was able to get preview tickets. However in a world where every act is a deception and everyone holds secrets not everything is as it seems as friends and lovers conceal deception and treachery. On the farm (the CIA training facility) Clayton learns that everything is all part of training. When computer hacker and barman James Clayton is approached by CIA recruiter Walter Burke he is enticed by offers of information about his father who died in a plane crash, supposedly in the employment of Shell Oil. It's better than most of the other spy / thriller stuff out there. Also, Moynahan is thankfully given more to do than just be the obligatory chick/eye-candy. Pacino is steady throughout and doesn't do his unrestrained thing until the end (its still worth the wait!). In fact, everyone holds their own and the combined chemistry boosts the film. I love Pacino, and was quite interested in whether Farrell could match him after the promise he showed in 'Minority Report.' Well he does. This is quite a fair way into the movie, though.
At this point, the story's focus gets much sharper and things become more consistently interesting, with a few cool twists. Interest goes up and down until after the 'farm' training stuff. Sometimes it will hook you in but other times it is just annoying - the feeling that he's not in any real danger but its all just a drill. Are his problems for real? Or is it just another training test by Burke? If this sounds like tense stuff, it is and it isn't. You see, we are told 'everything is a test!!!' and this lurks behind every plot turn that Clayton goes through. The movie is good enough to watch but is not entirely riveting. He is the head guy at the CIA training centre, 'the farm,' which Clayton and fellow trainee/love interest Layla Moore (Bridget Moynahan) go through. His recruiter is CIA guy Walter Burke (Al Pacino). 'The Recruit,' is an MIT whiz kid James Clayton (Colin Farrel).
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