If you were expecting The Bourne Identity then give it a miss. However, if you want to see a normal but cheeky guy thrown into an uncontrollable situation then do add The Recruit to your watch later list. The Recruit is Noah’s second appearance of the year after his supporting role in Black Adam.
Noah's Breakthrough.
It’s well known that Hollywood enjoy frivolously recasting the same 30 year old, youthful looking actors as high school teenagers that never age. So it’s a breath of fresh seeing these actors step out of high school romance into adult roles spanning across different genres. His precursors during his golden hour included the To All The Boys film series, The Perfect Date and Sierra Burgess Is a Loser. Noah Centineo was the romcom leading charmer that held the young adult hearts 2018-2021.
Plot.
In Layman’s terms The Recruit is about a 24 year normie lawyer placed in a stressful environment and forced to babysit a killer after joining the CIA. Centineo plays Owen Hendricks a young lawyer who was only working for the CIA for two weeks before his life is flipped upside down. After being given grunt work he’s tasked with reading through ‘gray mail’. A collection of intimidating messages from outsiders threatening to release CIA secrets. We find out that gray mail is often empty threats until Owen falls on one from Max Maladze. Maladze an imprisoned former CIA asset threatened to reveal everything she knows if they don’t clear her name and get her out.
After convincing his boss that she is in fact a credible threat, Owen is assigned to her case and in charge of finding out what she knows. After their first interaction and plenty of digging Owen soon comes to realise that he’s far out of his depth. That Max is connected to more things than the CIA is even aware of and potentially in harms way. Within the first few episodes we witness Owen truly realising how far in he is. The charismatic and impulsive lawyer get his finger nail pulled off after being stripped naked, was one briefcase code away from acid in the face and being chased off of a bridge abroad. A lawyer with no field training is placed in one of the most dangerous scenarios, relying on his charming wit and improvisations to survive the espionage world.
Relatability.
The relatability the character Owen Hendricks’ contributed to his likeness. The young adult who lost his dad to the sudden and tragic events of 9/11 was raised by his single mother. Experiencing that level of loss was a catalyst to his developing impulsive and erratic nature. His need to consistently juggle more than he can handle to avoid being stationary and facing his issues. As well as seeing his work relationships we witness his home life, sharing an apartment with two of his closest friends Terrence (Daniel Quincy Annohand) and ex-girlfriend (Fivel Stewart). It’s clear how different their attitudes are towards working, caring for yourself and their joint opinion on Owen. You would assume that there would be a clear contrast in his work and personal relationships but no. Subconsciously he powers through both with little regard for his own safety and the feelings of others.
Was it worth it ?
(Spoilers ahead) As much as this has been a positive look at Centineo’s breakthrough the show most definitely has some room for improvement. The first being the cliche “will they won’t they” between Owen, Hannah and Max. At some point writers have got to stop being predictable, anyone could have guessed that after constant let downs she’d fly across the world and even be there at the end. The sexual chemistry between Owen and Max was well executed however the hookup seemed almost pointless. It’s unlikely that it would have affected his relationship with the ever forgiving Hannah. Also, he had already convinced the CIA that they weren’t intimidate with each other. Secondly either Parker’s portrayal of Dawn or how the character was written seemed too forced. Perhaps we needed a little more background on Dawn but there’s only so much that can squeezed into 5 episodes.
Yes.
Overall the series was enjoyable with a solid 3/5 episodes. The action was impactful with a good balance between his new agent life and the normal life as a lawyer. Hopefully if there is another season we get to witness Owen fight his way out of the cliffhanger and spending more time in the field with Max. Lastly, Owens relationship status with Hannah needs to come to a quick conclusion. There is no reason why any bad guys should start using her to get to him.
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