Plot thin in latest CIA action flick

James Clayton (Colin Farrell) is a young, MIT-graduate computer connoisseur with a night job bartending. Walter Burke (good ol' Pacino) is a recruiter for the CIA. When Clayton is approached by Burke and urged to join the agency, he is immersed into a life of training, deception and intrigue where "everything is a test" and "nothing is what it seems." Along the way he gets involved with fellow recruit Layla (Bridget Moynahan), and finds that getting her into bed is harder than the training. Insert plot twist here: conspiracy is asunder as Clayton is informed Layla is a mole and must tail her at all costs to find out who she's working for. We, the audience, sit back and watch who's manipulating who in the field and in the bedroom. Spies, sabotage and sex = fun.\nTaking liberties to ensure that it stays entertaining, "The Recruit" sometimes pushes itself into the realm of cliché and narrow, feeding off the time-tested Bond template that makes espionage oh-so-appealing. In this respect, it's fun to watch the agents go through the actions and look cool doing it. Farrell is in his element, as usual, now a leading actor. The guy's good. I'm biased, being a Pacino nut, so I thought Al was pretty swell. Of course, he's given some raw deals with his character, which are never fully developed, and he's thrown the trademarked angry lines now and again, but there's something about watching that guy yell and lecture that's plain old fun. Moynahan is good in her role, the up-and-coming actress that she is, and there's some fairly believable on-screen chemistry between her and Farrell. \nFun as it is, the movie falls prey to its own vices. First and foremost, this movie needs different writers. The dialogue was average, and the plot was convoluted. They rushed getting Clayton into the CIA, sacrificing character development, then slowed it down for the training, and somewhere around the midpoint of two hours tried to get through the conspiracy plot twists. The ending is full of flaws. First, it's predictable, the trailer shows all. Viewers are subjected to the tradition of hearing the bad guy openly explain his contrived master plan to the hero just so they get what's going on. Then, the movie kind of just ends, trying to sustain a moment of poignancy. Donaldson ("Species," "Thirteen Days") keeps it looking interesting, but needs a better plot.