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THE RECRUIT
Blu-ray Edition
Film review by Gordon Justesen
Technical specs by Michael Jacobson
Stars:
Al Pacino, Colin Farrell, Bridget Moynahan, Gabriel Macht
Director: Roger Donaldson
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1, PCM 5.1
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1
Studio: Touchstone
Features: See Review
Length: 115 Minutes
Release Date: June 3, 2008
“Would
I have to kill anyone?”
“Would
you like to?”
Film
***
I’ve come to
realize that even if a movie about the CIA were released every week, they’d
still be every as bit as intriguing and entertaining. The Recruit is another contemporary thriller with endless doses of
mind blowing espionage that belongs with a long list of similarly themed films
such as Spy Game, The Bourne Identity, and
Mission: Impossible. Even if the movie
isn’t a truthful interpretation of the Central Intelligence Agency, it does a
good job of convincing you what goes on in training, as well as behind closed
doors at CIA headquarters. If you find yourself watching this and wondering if
this is what really goes on in the agency, remember one of the key lines in the
movie, “Nothing is what it seems.”
Colin Farrell stars
in perhaps his first big lead role, if you don’t count his debut in the little
seen Tigerland from a few years back,
as James Clayton, a computer whiz and MIT graduate who’s about to make a nice
profitable deal off of “Spartacus”, the computer software he has developed.
However, James has a chance encounter with Walter Burke (Al Pacino), who
approaches him with a slightly more tempting offer; to become that of a CIA
agent. At first, James resists, claiming he isn’t CIA material, but when
Walter admits to having knowledge of the young man’s father, who died
mysteriously when James was much younger, he signs on immediately.
The new recruit is
then sent, along with a bus load of additional trainees to a training site known
as The Farm, where Burke administers a series of very mind boggling training
ops, some of them extraordinarily elaborate. James starts to slowly become
attracted to female recruit Layla (Bridget Moynahan), even though his feelings
seem to be tested in a most interesting way, which I’ll leave for you to see
for yourself. After being put through some hellish training exercises, Walter
selects James for the most highly elite position in the agency, the N.O.C.
(non-official cover operative), who is given special assignments, mostly dealing
with discovering moles in the agency.
When handed his
first assignment, James is hesitant to go through with it. The reason is for the
fact that Layla may very well be a double agent, as Burke informs him.
Nonetheless, James proceeds and goes undercover by posing as a computer
programmer in the CIA office where Layla works. It is then that the two start to
really fall for each other, and complications ensue very much.
The strongest parts
in The Recruit are easily in the first
half. The scenes at The Farm, including many physical and psychologically
elaborate training exercises really get you intrigued to the point where you
can’t wait for what happens next. What keeps the movie from being a total
success is a very unnecessary plot revelation at the end that simply, for me at
least, bordered on unsatisfactory. Normally, endings can make or break a
thriller, and in the case of The Recruit,
I wished the final moments could have been changed, but it doesn’t take away
from the entertainment value of what has preceded it.
Directed with flare
by Roger Donaldson (Thirteen Days, No Way
Out) and featuring dynamite performances from Pacino and Farrell, The
Recruit is a much entertaining thriller that, despite the let down of a
tacked-on closing, remains a power-packed thriller nonetheless.
Video
****
Very pleasing...with this Blu-ray release, we finally get the correct scope aspect viewing ratio (not sure why it wasn't available on DVD), and the high definition technology makes for a striking visual presentation. With stronger detail and contrast, I believe this presentation finally gives us the vision of The Recruit we were always meant to see.
Audio
****
There's plenty of action and big sequences afoot to make this audio track pop. With choice of Dolby Digital or uncompressed 5.1 tracks, the dynamic range is stronger than ever. Crossover effects are plentiful and smooth, and dialogue is always clean and clear against the bed of effects and music.
Features
***
Offered on this
disc are the essentials, but good ones nonetheless, including a commentary track
by Roger Donaldson and Colin Farrell, deleted scenes with optional commentary,
and a documentary titled “Spy School: Inside the CIA Training Program.”
Summary:
While the ending, as I’ve mentioned, might not completely satisfy, I still find The Recruit to be a skillful espionage thriller, with solid performances from the two dynamite leads. The Blu-ray release gives a terrific audio and visual presentation in the correct aspect ratio, and makes for a great night in with your home theatre!
