User reviews

I have to say I really enjoyed The Recruit. The trailers to this looked pretty good so I've been looking forward to it ever since I first saw them and it not only met my expectations but exceeded them. I've never seen Noah Centineo in anything else before this but I was impressed that he was able to lead this series the way he did. He nailed the role and now look forward to seeing him in future projects. This has everything you want in an action thriller...action, comedy, drama, mystery, twists, etc. It will definitely keep you on the edge of your seat throughout the entire season. I'm hoping this gets renewed quickly but I definitely want to see more of this!

Wow. The Recruit was even better than I was hoping for. It follows a new CIA recruit who's a lawyer and before he knows it he's in deeper than he ever thought. He gets caught up in an international political thriller when a former CIA asset threatens to expose her relationship with the agency that will cause major problems for everyone. This is directed by Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, Edge of Tomorrow, Mr. And Mrs. Smith, American Made, Swingers, etc) who's an absolute terrific director. He usually does major blockbuster movies so this has to be good for him to do. I'm so glad that this is on Netflix so we don't have to wait a week between episodes. I hate that now. This show is definitely a show to binge. I've liked it so much that I already binged the entire first season in the first weekend it came out! I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who's a fan of political action thrillers.

This was, simply put, an extremely entertaining series. Episode after episode, you can't imagine where it's going except that the lead character Owen Hendricks, played by Noah Centineo, will get into trouble, more and more trouble and best of all, he'll get everyone else into trouble as well. It doesn't matter that he works for the CIA, he's not CIA material, but he's the only honest to god good person the agency appears to have. He's no Jack Ryan, but he's got more luck than the Michael Connelly character, most of it bad.

The character and how well Centineo plays the part is basically what drives you to watch. He's so endearing, you'll keep calling him names but you can't help to root for him despite the character's poor choices. Why? Because he's a good person who cares for others while he's surrounded in the agency by no one who gives a crap about others. Thankfully he has two friends who care about him and whose best advice is to get the hell out of the CIA. I can think of so many reasons why this is not a typical spy thriller; not typical is key here. How is this entertaining? For the same reason we like ice cream; we just do.

As season ending episodes go, it is not, absolutely not a typical cliffhanger either. By the time the last episode ends, you find yourself so interested in Owen's future you need there to be a season two. You got to have it. A lot of people will be upset at Netflix if there isn't a season two; and I'm one.

I just finished this binge. My only critical thought is: is it the most plausible show? Probably not - but that is never really the point of these kinds of shows. Just like The Ozarks, Sneaky Pete, or any number of other thriller type shows, the whole point is to follow a brazen, unabashed, resourceful main character into situations that only become progressively more impossible to contend with and see them through. Of course you have to suspend an amount of disbelief, and I am more than willing to do this when the characters are likeable, the dialog/acting is good, the pace is not boring, and its fun and not loaded with finger-wagging pretentious hollywood ideas --- so far this show checks all of the boxes! Not the most amazing thing I've seen, but has me smiling and eagerly clicking 'Next Episode' at the end of each.

There were definitely a few points in this show where I've found myself saying, "Oh man, this is so good," but a few places -namely in the last two episodes- I thought it felt strained by some script choices that were not greatest or most sensible.

Overall, I really found myself enjoying this show. It does fall short of being absolutely amazing because of a couple of points if you are looking for them -- so in honesty, this show is probably ranges between a 7 and a 9, but I definitely have no regrets with this one and recommend it for sure if you're looking for some laid back fun.

If you're old enough to remember Chuck... but more intricate spy plot.

The Recruit is about a new law recruit for the CIA who gets caught up in CIA messes and even field work, and somehow stumbles his way through it. It's witty and funny, with some action and romance.

It's not gritty CIA spy work. It's an enjoyable series with humor about a cut throat workplace, about an environment of overwork, about being smart with secrets.

It's a solid technical production with fresh new faces. The spy plot and action sequences move this thriller series at a decent pace, all the while peppered with some witty humor. It's a spy series that's not too overly intense, and quite charming, though I will say that the charm is focused on Owen, the main character, the spy stud who gets the girls, so it may depend on whether you want to watch what happens to Owen or not, and if Owen's charms rub off on you or not.

At the moment, I am eager to see if there is a next season.

Season one was amazing. But season two just makes absolutely no sense. The story is very complicated and the exaggeration is sooooo boring.

I do appreciate a little exaggeration à la James Bond but this was something else. There is no way Owen Hendricks could have survived 20 minutes into the first episode let alone the whole season two. Just takes out the fun of it all!!

Dude makes all the stupid decisions but somehow some way gets away with every single one of them. Keep in mind that he is a lawyer with no field training and no resources but still manages to fight and defeat experienced field agents and military personnel. Ok!

The show it's entertaining if you stop thinking that this has to be a documentary with all the accuracy of real espionage. I love how this isn't another he kicks everyone's ass without a scratch type of thing as Netflix has gotten very choreographed on everything they do, this guy gets his ass handed to him and he really does not know how to throw a punch plus he's not this bodybuilding dude with more muscle than brain. All this makes the show different therefore entertaining and changes the pace a little from all this heros on Netflix that can do everything but get hit. Enjoy it for what it is A TV SHOW and not real life because if you want realistic and accurate you need to stick to documentaries and everyone with the jack ryan comparison please understand that isn't realistic either actual government and high stakes spionage doesn't make for an entertaining watch. Give the kid a chance give the show a chance and expect to be entertained not taught a lesson on how the government cia or anything related to it works.

I loved season 1. It was smart, grounded, creative, funny, chaotic and a carnival coaster ride of bizarre characters. Sadly season 2 has abandoned all of that including key characters to deliver a knock-off two-bit buddy cop parody.

Why? We don't need fancy Korean locations. Just give us good writing and deep, complex characters. This season of the recruit has committed the cardinal sin of turning characters into caricatures. I hate when show runners destroy their IP for trope-y trash. Please bring back Season One's brilliance. You can still turn this around. Bring back the characters that helped flesh out Owen's complexity. The action was never what made this show special. So how about dialing that back and spend the money on quality storytelling and writing.

I saw this highlighted on Netflix and assumed it was another US teen show, but I was so wrong.

The characters really work and it's well written and fast paced so takes you on the journey with effortless ease.

Nothing negative to say as really enjoying this and would recommend giving this a try. Nothing too demanding and easy to follow so sure you will love it.

Laura Haddock is great and sooooo want her to actually be from Belarus as she nails this role.

It does not take itself too seriously and I am finding myself really starting to root for these characters

Not finished the series yet so curious to see where this ends.

Enjoy.

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!

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!

Some things like the tiny lady with skinny arms throwing high impact punches is extremely, extremely silly, but the comedic tone of this otherwise serious show works very well. In many ways this is a comedy as much as it is a spy genre show.

The plot is interesting enough, and other than a heavy fixation with rap music for the soundtrack, and some silly action sequences as described it's very good and pretty entertaining.

Basic premise is 'fish out of water novice in high tension spy scenarios' but delivered with a bit of wit, and some pretty decent acting.

I recommend this show, with the couple of flaws mentioned in mind of course.

This show is a solid 8/10 for me. I almost stopped watching it halfway into the first episode; the characters didn't seem believable, and it felt like a campy, low-budget CIA show, as if there haven't been enough of those. I'm so glad I decided to stick with it. What saves this show is the writing. It has an incredibly authentic feel to it, as if the technical advisor is the kind of person who's about to get fired from being a spook for spilling all the beans about how espionage works. After the first episode I was hooked, and it only got better and better. If you like spy shows, give this one a shot...you won't be disappointed.

Like the majority of new netflix shows that start off solid they demolish (read the most aggressive expletives you can think of here) everything they have built in the latter portion of the series.

Season 1 started better than I would have guessed. Hot shot CIA protagonist that manages to barely make his way through one impossible circumstance after another mostly just from grit and persistence. The actors and characters are solid. It's about 70-80 percent spy fun with the remainder being melodrama or humor that is out of place (noninclusive of the drama or humor consistent with human interactions and believable) with the rest and almost derails the entire experience. It works and works well but somehow by the thinnest of margins. Like every episode just about there is one impassioned speech that were are supposed to believe is THE thing that gets results. It is out of place with the rest of show but at that level forgivable/ignorable.

But by the end of season 1 he goes from being a smart, hot shot to making preposterous unforced errors. Much more hapless than competent. Can't remotely keep his excrement together. The show kind of recognizes this but still wants us to think he's pulling it off but he only pulls it off because the show bends reality so it will work. The rest of the show is the same. There is a DC/government favor for-a-favor mechanic that is intriguing and believable at first then becomes ludicrous to the point that everyone would clearly be fired for incompetence. Protagonist is saved both by people and agencies doing things that it wouldn't make sense from a character perspective except for the unpredictable serendipity it will lead to for him.

The beginning of season 2 shows they are doubling down on the dumpster fire that was the end of season one. Pass.

Noah Centineo is well cast as reckless but lucky CIA recruit Owen Hendricks, Laura Haddock (as Max Meladze) is sufficiently bad-ass (with the necessary cracks in the surface) and all the supporting actors turn out decent performances aided and abetted by some witty and smart writing. As per typical 2020s productions - we have gender flipping turned up to max (no pun intended) with not just one toxic male template - violent, pathological, ruthlessly efficient - turned female, but three (at least).

Be prepared for lots of scenes where women generally outclass the men in all areas - including being the office sexual predator (go justice!). Thankfully, this is all handled with a degree of humour and charm and if the idea of a murderous female east european assassin sounds a bit 'Killing Eve' - imo, 'The Recruit' is genuine fun as opposed to annoying and repetitive (which KE descended into).

I've no idea how accurate the little details of CIA ops are - but the code names, references to procedure and allusions to the endless bureaucracy involved, all added to, if not realism, then at least a sense the writers had done some homework. There's a running joke involving the avoidance of responsibility and hence lack of intelligence sharing, which silly as it sounds, probably has some basis in reality.

The central premise - view a standard CIA op from the perspective of a newbie - actually works, in terms of refreshing aspects of the genre. A car chase, a physical fight with the bad guys, an interrogation or an undercover infiltration - these are all things we've seen on screen a hundred times before. But seeing them from the rookie's perspective does two basic things - it introduces an element of unpredictability and it, potentially, makes the whole thing a bit more relatable (not that we have to constantly see ourselves on-screen, more that superhuman competence can be boring to watch. We want our heroes to succeed, but we need them to occasionally fail).

There were certainly moments when Hendricks' lack of knowledge was taken to ridiculous extremes.

As one example, he has apparently not only never shot a gun before (or witnessed someone shooting a gun), but lacks the basic common sense to realise that the shoulder rest on a sub-machine gun is there for a reason.

At other times Hendricks acts like a conscientious objector with a death wish - refusing to carry a gun or wear a protective vest, for example. He also displays a ridiculous naivety as to what CIA work might entail - but, really, none of this matters too much. It's not a straight out comedy, but we're not intended to be taking any of this too seriously.

The unpredictability of a central character, who at one moment displays exceptional intuition and reasoning but the next says or does something stupid, may not stretch to multiple series - at some point 'The Recruit' will meet the end of its character arc. Hopefully the writers will resist trying to push things too far or simply repeating the same 'jokes'.

So far, though, it gets the basics right.

First the pro's - it's fast, it's catchy, there are some funny bits and international intrigue and agents is a pretty cool frame story....

Now the problem- the story makes almost no sense, the concept of CIA all filled by incompetent lawyers trying to avoid things is dumb, ppl in the CIA all trying to sabotage one another and trap each other and that they are all just crooks is such an annoying cliche'.

The whole story line and things that happen- are extremely made up to the point its just not believable The actor playing the Russian Asset is good- but that's it.

I gave it a 6 as it's watchable when you don't care much for logic.

This was truly a fantastic surprise. I went into this show as a fan of most of the cast and still didn't think this would push out any quality storytelling.

Obviously, I was wrong. The writers of this show deserve to pat themselves on the back with this one. The tension and suspense really fed my dopamine-addled brain and kept me entertained.

A large part of the sense of mystery comes from the average American(such as myself) having no insight into how the CIA actually works and what goes on behind the scenes. Obviously, that information shouldn't be leaked, but the show made it seem so realistic that it made an impressionable young person(me) think about the effects a government-sanctioned terrorist group could have(the CIA).

This was truly a wonderful production and I hope to see more like it in 2023. Fivel Stewart and Vondie Curtis-Hall really stole the show.

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.