review: THE RECRUIT (Blu-ray)

Touchstone  //  Buy from Amazon.com Starring Academy Award winner Al Pacino and the always-electric Colin Farrell, The Recruit launches you on a thrill-ride of secrecy and deception in the CIA--now more riveting than ever before on Blu-ray. Watch as a shadowy world of secrets is illuminated in the bright, razor-sharp clarity of high definition. Feel your pulse race with every footstep, every gunshot, every deadly whisper - with spectacularly enhanced audio quality. Whatever happened to Al Pacino... the man who was "Scarface" and the son of "The Godfather" is now a one-trick pony, delivering the same character in every one of his films (albeit with a surprising assortment of hair pieces - the one in use in "The Recruit" is a marvelous example of defying gravity, I have to say.) Colin Farrell I've learned not to expect too much from - I don't think he's ever truly impressed me, but always does the job of serving as the brooding, rough-edged, loveable hunk, no matter what the subject matter of the film may be. "The Recruit" is really a color-by-numbers affair, with a plot "twist" you can see coming a mile away... yet you're entertained along the way, so even though you know where you're going, you enjoy looking out the window and taking in the view. Not especially riveting, not particularly well done, but solidly amusing, "The Recruit" does its job of entertaining for a couple hours. No complaints with that. Video The included 2.3:1 widescreen transfer is given a deluxe 1080p high def transfer that looks fantastic from start to finish. Great looking film, great looking transfer. Audio The PCM 5.1 surround mix is very strong, delivering an excellent soundscape that even pumps out some rumble via the sub. Extras audio commentary w/ director & Colin Farrell deleted scenes "Spy School: Inside the CIA Training Program" featurette movie showcase (reference quality scenes from the movie) Closing Thoughts Easily-digestible entertainment + decent extras = solid night's entertainment