The Recruit (Roger Donaldson, 2003)

Basically seeking to replicate the passing of the baton from Robert Redford to Brad Pitt in Spy Game, The Recruit has Al Pacino showing Colin Farrell the CIA ropes in a thriller which passes muster in the first half, involving spy-school training, a safe area for a scriptwriter in that espionnage jargon and running through the tricks of the trade can be chucked in as plot, and then seems to get bored with itself once it inevitably turns on the full thriller mode, with moles and car chases. Bringing in these signallers of high excitement is fine, and in fact helpful of the director, as the viewer is likely to have got stricken with ennui around the same time.

4/10