The Recruit

Buena Vista Pictures | Release Date: January 31, 2003

5.9	USER SCORE Mixed or average reviews based on 62 Ratings

USER RATING DISTRIBUTION

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Watch Now

Stream On

Buy on

Stream On

Expand

Review this movie

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Please sign in or create an account before writing a review.

Check box if your review contains spoilers

0 characters (5000 max)

User Reviews

User score By date Most helpful

InFAMOUSDexterOct 14, 2011

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I don't understand why you people don't like this film. I personally think that it is amazing, and also is you take a look at the other films that are released that year, it make it even better.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

All this user's reviews

Avalon011May 3, 2016

This movie is just completely stupid, the recruit is just obsessed throughout the whole movie with this girl and making a fool out of himself, I was hoping he would get shot.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

All this user's reviews

TyranianSep 18, 2019

Pacino and Farrell are good but this film has more twists than are reasonable.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

MovieGuysAug 16, 2014

The Recruit is one of those thrillers that thinks it's so much smarter than it is, and tries to confuse and trick you by making you think "nothing is what it seems" and such, even though the whole thing just doesn't make any sense. This is anThe Recruit is one of those thrillers that thinks it's so much smarter than it is, and tries to confuse and trick you by making you think "nothing is what it seems" and such, even though the whole thing just doesn't make any sense. This is an age-old movie trick that is getting tired. Just because a movie is complicated and vague, does not mean it's a good movie. This one tries to be as good as a Bourne movie, but the thrills and visceral performances just aren't there. Even Pacino looks bored!

The one plus of the movie is that it is interesting to see the training involved in becoming a CIA employee. this part of the movie kept me engaged the whole time, even if the rest of it felt like a generic Hollywood spy thriller.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

mohamad91hkJun 30, 2020

so many twists that make you confused instead of surprised, one of the twist was stupid and doesn't make sense, on the other hand, the film attract you until the end and Colin Farrell did a great job in this movie.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

FilmQueenNov 28, 2015

This action film is quite good, a bit slow at certain parts, but it is interesting to find out what's really going on. The ending has a good enough twist.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

eva3si0nFeb 12, 2023

The Recruit is a classic action thriller in the early 2000s. The film has an excellent acting duet in the title role, you can even say that it attracts viewing. But everything else is done at the average level. As the thriller The RecruitThe Recruit is a classic action thriller in the early 2000s. The film has an excellent acting duet in the title role, you can even say that it attracts viewing. But everything else is done at the average level. As the thriller The Recruit failed, as it does not keep the viewer at the screen at all, the first half of the film is tedious and boring. Even if the film were a pilot of the series, it would seem boring. The second half of the film is already watchable, but she does not have time to reveal the characters. Only the plot begins to unwind, and already the ending. And the most annoying thing is the main plot twist, which almost any viewer understands by the middle of the film. The Recruit is a mediocre film that can only be recommended for viewing by fans of Al Pacino or Farell.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

BroyaxJan 21, 2017

Un peu long, une fin au rebondissement tarabiscoté et un Colin Farrell qui semble pour le moins perdu face à un Al Pacino éclatant et grandiose (comme de coutume). Si on devait donner une définition du charisme en deux mots, ce serait "AlUn peu long, une fin au rebondissement tarabiscoté et un Colin Farrell qui semble pour le moins perdu face à un Al Pacino éclatant et grandiose (comme de coutume). Si on devait donner une définition du charisme en deux mots, ce serait "Al Pacino" et ce serait tout-à-fait normAl.

Néanmoins, le film ne repose pas entièrement sur ses épaules de superstar : Roger Donaldson livre un film consciencieux à la réalisation de bon élève appliqué quoique sans génie... et pour un film d'espions, l'intrigue se laisse suivre sans aucune migraine, preuve d'une ossature assez solide pour réussir à nous induire en erreur ici et là.

La fin est vraiment maladroite, pas en elle-même, mais la façon dont elle est amenée et résolue, ce qui nous laisse à penser ce que l'on pensait depuis le début : la recrue est un petit con. Heureusement qu'Al est là... un génie !… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

amheretojudgeNov 5, 2018

a big cry for help..

The Recruit Donaldson's spy thriller is a big question to the genre it claims to be. This is a no go from the first frame itself. No matter how alluring and intriguing the concept may sound like, it is completelya big cry for help..

The Recruit

Donaldson's spy thriller is a big question to the genre it claims to be. This is a no go from the first frame itself. No matter how alluring and intriguing the concept may sound like, it is completely shallow and empty to the core. It is a tale extracted from a chapter of a textbook, which too was unfortunately mediocre. It has the same old storyline that we have been listening to over the years, even the surprises are so bizarrely installed, that you can see the station far before it arrives. On terms of script, it is a big cry for help. It needed the polishing aplenty and better supervision on both editing and execution. This meaningless chase of cat and mouse, is clearly outdated.

The foggy roads, the shady deals, finite set of characters and involuntary sacrifices, every aspect of the plot shucks away its integrity. It doesn't take itself seriously. What it has got right, is the cast. Pacino is the perfect riddler for the role, his promising commitment itself is convincing enough to be the apt host to take a tour of this world. Farrell, on his parallel role, gets overpowered by Pacino at times and since his role demands such a position, he holds onto that piece of thread till the last frame. The other supporting cast like Moynahan and Macht fails to reap the flag as anticipated.

The dialogues or more accurately, monologues allotted to actors are performed lethally especially by Pacino on latter stages. But this is a drop in the ocean. Even an actor with a caliber like such cannot save this sinking ship that the screenplay is. Donaldson's vision is frankly blurred and undercooked to create the anticipated impact. The Recruit literally recruits you through its concept but this job calls for a labour work and not your promised white collar job.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews