"The Recruit" on Netflix [View all]

Fast-talking, recent law-school grad Owen Hendricks (Noah Centineo) is assigned the drudgery of combing through graymail files at the CIA and gets in over his head when he follows up on a credible threat by a former asset, a Belarusian woman (Laura Haddock) awaiting trial for a brutal murder. He must contend with backstabbing co-workers, Russian mobsters and his own impulsive naiveté to keep himself, and his roommates, safe as he pursues the case to a resolution that seems forever out of reach.

As espionage stories go I found this a refreshingly low-concept, low-stakes but fast-paced thriller that veers close at times to a workplace comedy. Unlike Amazon Prime Video's Jack Ryan series, the fate of Western Civilization doesn't hang in the balance, the characters seem authentic, and the hero is capable of a variety of facial expressions. There's plenty of action and global travel but not at the comic-book level we've come to expect; in fact, there's even a comic-book sci-fi subplot that one of Owen's co-workers is trying to make go away so they can get on with their ordinary lives. Recommended for those who want a nuts-and-bolts view of the spycraft landscape with an easy-to-follow plot constrained by real-life concerns, like when the hero has to call his ex-girlfriend to cover his hotel bill.