The Recruit (2003)

Director:

Roger Donaldson

Writers (WGA):

Roger Towne (written by) and
Kurt Wimmer (written by) ...

Release Date:

31 January 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Thriller

Tagline:

Trust. Betrayal. Deception. In the C.I.A. nothing is what it seems.

Plot:

A brilliant young CIA trainee is asked by his mentor to help find a mole in the Agency.

Plot Keywords:

CIA | Mole | Mentor | Spy | Bathtub

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Al Pacino	...	Walter Burke
Colin Farrell	...	James Douglas Clayton
Bridget Moynahan	...	Layla Moore
Gabriel Macht	...	Zack
Kenneth Mitchell	...	Alan (as Ken Mitchell)
Mike Realba	...	Ronnie Gibson
Ron Lea	...	Bill Rudolph, Dell Rep
Karl Pruner	...	Dennis Slayne
Jeanie Calleja	...	Co-Ed #1
Jenny Levine	...	Blonde with Cell Phone (as Jennifer Levine)
Angelo Tsarouchas	...	Cab Driver
Veronica Hurnick	...	Polygraph Interrogator (as Veronika Hurnik)
Eugene Lipinski	...	Husky Man
Mark Ellis	...	Test Instructor
Richard Fitzpatrick	...	Rob Stevens

Also Known As:

The Farm (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence, sexuality and language.

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Persian | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | Malaysia:U | Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 (w) | Hong Kong:IIA | Ireland:15 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A (original rating) | UK:12 (video rating) | USA:PG-13 | Canada:A

Filming Locations:

Arlington, Virginia, USA

Company:

Touchstone Pictures

Trivia:

The computer code seen as part of Ice-9 is actually gibberish taken from code written in C for Windows using Hungarian notation for variables and seemingly part of an earlier routine to search for files. It is not syntactically correct - taken as a whole it's just gibberish.

Goofs:

Plot holes: Burke tries to convince Clayton he has blanks in the pistol. Clayton checked the magazine when he first received the weapon. He would have seen right away if there were blanks, as they look quite different from real rounds. He had also fired such weapons in the firing range, and this weapon at Zack. Blanks have no recoil so he would have immediately noticed the difference. Burke would know this, and would not have tried such a useless ploy, no matter how desperate.

Quotes:

James Clayton: All I know about the CIA is that they're a bunch of fat, old white guys who fell asleep when we needed them most.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

Soundtrack:

We Will Rock You

Cat and Mole

In "The Recruit" a computer whiz (Farrell) is recruited to be trained as a CIA operative and ends up playing cat and mole inside the agency while keeping the audience wondering who's "cat" and who's "mole". The film is a slick shoot with a convoluted plot which tries to work the notion that in the spy game no one can trust anyone. Unfortunately the film is dumbed down, full of plot holes and obvious contrivances, doesn't work well in the human drama, and relies too much on techno-junk and gobbledygook computer hacking spy stuff. Though "The Recruit" isn't much of a movie given the talent behind it, it is busy and keeps you guessing all the way to the conclusion. An okay watch for Pacino fans and anyone in the mood for a lukewarm spy flick. (B-)