My new favorite genre

"'The Recruit,' writes A. O. Scott in the N.Y. Times, "seems like a spy thriller, but it really isn't. Sure, there are car and foot chases, some gunplay, a lot of breathless exposition and the frenetic uploading and downloading of files that is a staple of the modern high-tech Hollywood suspense film.

"But for all of its slick, manufactured suspense, and a 'surprise twist' that will come as a surprise to exactly no one, this movie belongs to a very special genre: the Al Pacino crazy mentor picture."