This film, according to an ex-CIA spy, is like the real deal 

Everyone has probably seen James Bond, Mission: Impossible or Jason Bourne at some point. You know: those spy movies. Those action films where the main character is often betrayed by someone within the organization and ultimately has to save the world themselves. Yes, they are certainly entertaining, but are they actually accurate? That Johnny English there is no real agent, I get that, but is every movie just pure sensationalism? What could technically happen in real life? Well, curious one, you’re in luck, because there is a former CIA spy who is just opening up about this. Which movies are the real deal? Just keep scrolling.

CIA vs Hollywood

I want to know if it’s realistic that Ethan Hunt keeps finding himself in situations where he has to save the world. A former spy must have an opinion about this, right? LAD spoke with former CIA spy John Kiriakou who has even worked as a consultant on films (talk about a good source). According to him, everyone at the CIA loves spy movies: “Everyone here really watches every movie and series. I’ve even been a script consultant on The Bourne Ultimatum, Kill the Messenger, True Lies and Burn Notice.” Although they all enjoy it very much, most films, according to him, have really nothing to do with the reality of the CIA as he knows it. Oof. That’s a hard pill to swallow. Still, there is one movie that does come close and that is… The Recruit from 2003. “The first part of the film, where the main character is being trained, is one hundred percent accurate, except for one detail: we were not beaten during training. Everything else he went through… we experienced in abundance. Furthermore, almost all movies are really not realistic. And if someone calls the CIA ‘the company’, you might as well turn it off.”

So what is that real deal movie about, then?

Okay, The Recruit is the real deal. This spy thriller with Al Pacino, Colin Farrell, and Bridget Moynahan follows the life of MIT student James Clayton (Colin). During his studies in cryptology, he helps develop a surveillance program called Spartacus (not: Sparacus). This is a program that can hack and take over any computer hardware. When he presents this program on the school market, computer company Dell knows exactly what they want with James. After impressing their representative, he is later approached by Walter Burke (Al Pacino), who offers him a job at the CIA.

James hopes to uncover the truth about the mysterious death of his father, so he accepts the job. We follow him, fellow trainee Layla (Bridget), and his rival Zack (Gabriel Macht) during their training. James is ‘fired’ during training under the pretense that he must shadow Layla undercover. Because she? She is not who she says she is.

So. Do you want to know how a real CIA spy is trained? Then you should The Recruit watch. And if you want to see another good series? Then Homeland is also very realistic according to John.