The Recruit (2022)

Watchseries; I saw the Neflix teaser and was convinced to give this one a shot. Although I liked the first episode I was upended by the quirky backdrop on which it seems to exist. I couldn't quite figure out if I'm supposed to take it seriously, or if the lackadaisical application of proper context was an a homage to the intricate workings of classified government operations. I'm still not sure. I'm a few episodes in and it hasn't maintained the momentum of the first instalment, but I'm not ready to bail just yet.

Its a strange series, I'd expect similar situations to occur if Mr. Bean were to become a CIA employee. To be honest I'm not even sure what this guy is supposed to be doing at all. I mean he's an attorney working in the CIA but seems to doing the job of a coordinator or some sort of logistics admin... who knows, I'm not a CIA aficionado, but he seems to be doing stuff way out of his scope. The people in the CIA are a Keystone Cops of caricatures that defy logic and his frivolous response to it all suggests he either has a screw loose or is perhaps outside the bounds of general normality. He shares an apartment with two roommates who are all supposedly professionals but act more like college freshmen. They have a chore list for christ sake. This aspect of the story is just ridiculous really.

The story is entertaining if you don't take it too seriously since there are no characters you can relate to with some considerable head scratching. Most of the settings and situations are beyond ridiculous. My bet is they had a good notion for this series and put it in production without taking much notice from advisors or research on how things really work... which is fair enough since if you look at it from that perspective, it works quite well.

My advice is disengage brain before watching and just go with it. In all fairness I don't think it will last long since the manner in which it is produced is too haphazard to be sustainable. The writing is far too erratic and the show will probably decline in popularity and be shelved by the end of season two... if it makes it that far. The one thing it has going for it for the moment, is it is quite entertaining.

I'm tempted to give it 6/10 but I'm not sure what the hell I'm watching yet, so reserve the air of scepticism.

I saw the Neflix teaser and was convinced to give this one a shot. Although I liked the first episode I was upended by the quirky backdrop on which it seems to exist. I couldn't quite figure out if I'm supposed to take it seriously, or if the lackadaisical application of proper context was an a homage to the intricate workings of classified government operations. I'm still not sure. I'm a few episodes in and it hasn't maintained the momentum of the first instalment, but I'm not ready to bail just yet.

Its a strange series, I'd expect similar situations to occur if Mr. Bean were to become a CIA employee. To be honest I'm not even sure what this guy is supposed to be doing at all. I mean he's an attorney working in the CIA but seems to doing the job of a coordinator or some sort of logistics admin... who knows, I'm not a CIA aficionado, but he seems to be doing stuff way out of his scope. The people in the CIA are a Keystone Cops of caricatures that defy logic and his frivolous response to it all suggests he either has a screw loose or is perhaps outside the bounds of general normality. He shares an apartment with two roommates who are all supposedly professionals but act more like college freshmen. They have a chore list for christ sake. This aspect of the story is just ridiculous really.

The story is entertaining if you don't take it too seriously since there are no characters you can relate to with some considerable head scratching. Most of the settings and situations are beyond ridiculous. My bet is they had a good notion for this series and put it in production without taking much notice from advisors or research on how things really work... which is fair enough since if you look at it from that perspective, it works quite well.

My advice is disengage brain before watching and just go with it. In all fairness I don't think it will last long since the manner in which it is produced is too haphazard to be sustainable. The writing is far too erratic and the show will probably decline in popularity and be shelved by the end of season two... if it makes it that far. The one thing it has going for it for the moment, is it is quite entertaining.

I'm tempted to give it 6/10 but I'm not sure what the hell I'm watching yet, so reserve the air of scepticism.

The Recruit watchseries. I had skimmed over the 'trailer' for this on Netflix and wasn't 100% sold on it to be honest. I'm not a massive action fan. But thought I'd give it a go and was surprised - I really enjoyed it!

I mean is the premise is a bit far-fetched? Absolutely Would literally any of this happen in real life? No, no it would not.

But you kinda just have to suspend your disbelief and go with it (in the same vein as Designated Survivor) because it really is fun.

The casting and the acting is good - no one is sticking out to me like a sore thumb. And although there are a lot of violent scenes, it's injected with some comedy in the form of the protagonist's slightly cocky smart-assery, which honestly lifts this program above some other similar shows.

Is it without fault? No. I mean it feels a bit rushed at the beginning. You kinda hit the ground running with the story line without any set up at all really. But its better than dragging it out into a snooze-fest I suppose. The ex-girlfriend character I find irritating (Mother Theresa type) and remarkably idiotic when it comes to rational decision making later on in the series (no spoilers), that part of the storyline felt like an idea they tagged in for the sake of it.

However, if you're on the fence about watching it, definitely give it a go. Personally, I'm really hoping it gets picked up for another season, knowing how notorious Netflix are for cancelling!

Quirky, snarky, young. A fresh take on people entering service right now as the old ways get reinterpreted with new eyes.

I would have recast a role, as one of the actors put me off with her absolutely dead delivery. (It was an acting choice, but a little bit too thoroughly done.)

But in spite of that, the story itself was engaging and the entire cast brought their best game.

There were literally spots where I turned off the tv and thought "I have no idea what's next. (But I want to see it play out.)" That's an amazing compliment to any entertainment on the market now.

Hope Netflix gives this a second season. They don't always, but this would be such a loss to be one and done.

It's a little odd because it comes off as extremely fast paced but has time to fully develop the characters involved in a slow moving way. Does that make sense? Hmm.. All the key players get developed in their own quirky ways.. Exceptional acting, great cast, and interesting story.

I am not really into these spy/espionage type shows but I was bored the other night and it had come up so I thought yeah ok... lets see what this is about. I made it thru the first 6 eps staying up way to long.. and caught the last two today.

I especially like the quirky comedy bits that are a one off from a otherwise very serious show. Love the cast. Nice to see some of them again in a brand new good show.

I don't normally give a 10.. I did for this because it surprised me how much I enjoyed it. Well done!

The Recruit is a Netflix series with Noah Centineo as Owen Hendricks a newly hired CIA lawyer. The storyline surrounds Owen receiving grey letters that correspond to threats to National Security. He intercepts a letter related to a former CIA informant named Max Meladze played by Laura Haddock who is in prison for murder. Owen gets entangled in dangerous international power play between the Russians and the CIA. He ends up traveling the world to complete his assignment and the series ends in a cliff hanger. Colton Dunn and Aarti Mann acted as Noah's condescending coworkers and Vondie Curtis-Hall as their boss. Nathan Fillon had a brief cameo at the end of the season as the CIA Director. The storyline started as a comedic recruit and it got convoluted to the point of repetition. It was a good series, hopefully next season we get to see whether Owen ends up with Hannah played by Fivel Stewart. Definitely good series to watch.

The Recruit: a rookie lawyer, Owen Hendricks (Noah Centineo) gets a job in the CIA's General Counsel's Office. As the newbie gray mail files are dumped on him. These are communications in which people threaten to expose CIA activities. One letter from a prisoner seems genuine enough and he is soon caught up in covert ops and criminal activities in a bid to secure the release of the prisoner, Max Meladza (Laura Haddock) a former CIA asset, who had been abandoned. Some in the CIA see the ex-asset as having future potential. Others want to have her eliminated. Several people have secrets which they don't want exposed. The action moves from the US to the Middle East and back, them onwards to Prague and Minsk, involving various intelligence agencies and criminal organisation (difficult to tell them apart at times). Plenty of savage killings, torture gore and duplicity. Just as well the series is infused with a thread of dark humour to leaven the narrative. Great performances from Haddock and Centineo. Created and Co-Written by Alexi Hawley. Eight episodes on Netflix. 8.5/10.