An intelligent thriller with edge of seat tension that sees Colin Farrell play James Clayton, a computer genius who is selected to undergo training to join the CIA.

Walter Burke (played by Al Pacino who only seems to get better as he gets older) spots Clayton’s potential and persuades him to train at the farm (The CIA’s Training facility) with a group of other would be recruits. Burke pushes his new trainees, who include Bridget Moynahan as Layla, harder and harder, teaching them the tricks of surveillance and how to survive being interrogated.
There is a real sense of wheels within wheels and cat and mouse strategies as Clayton finds himself on his first mission in the films exciting final third, never quite sure who he is actually targeting - and with a twist filled ending the movie keeps us guessing too.

Farrell, he of the cold eyes and super confident manner, is actually pretty likable as the CIA’s newest recruit - the movie really belongs to Al Pacino though, who, with his subtle performance leads both the audience and the recruits down an ever twisting path of intrigue. Director Roger Donaldson grasps the action thriller genre and gives it a subtle twist, taking us on an enjoyable ride in the process.

EXTRAS: These include several deleted scenes (none of them missed from the movie - you can watch these straight or with a directors commentary); a small featurette called Spy School which takes a look inside the CIA’s training programme and there is also a good commentary from director Donaldson and star Farrell.