This thriller relies on its twists for most of its excitement, since director Roger Donaldson (DANTE'S PEAK) lets the movie flag frequently. The twists, however, couldn't be easier to guess if the theater had handed out copies of the script beforehand. Since "nothing is what it seems" and since the story relies almost exclusively on single twists rather than double twists, all you need to do is negate everything you are told, and you'll figure out every twist. If the butler had done it, THE RECRUIT would tell us several times that he hadn't, in which case you could be absolutely confident that he had.

The movie is almost saved by the strength of the acting, which, in addition to Pacino, includes Colin Farrell as James Clayton and Bridget Moynahan, who looks like Ashley Judd's younger sister, as Layla. James, the son of a dead CIA agent, is Walter's new prot‚g‚, and Layla is a fellow spy trainee who has an instant attraction to James. When they first lock eyes, it is like mating laser beams.

Along the way, some of the dialog is cute. "Do I have to kill anyone?" James asks Walter during the initial interview. "Would you like to?" Walter replies with a devilish grin.

Every once in awhile the story attempts relevance by paying heed to real members of the CIA, who, after all, may save us from the next big terrorist attack. "Our failures are known," Walter tells his students. "Our successes are not." Great sentiments, but they belong in another and better movie.

THE RECRUIT runs 1:50. It is rated PG-13 for "violence, sexuality and language" and would be acceptable for kids around 11 and up.