By Dean Goodman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollywood icon Al Pacino (news) and Irish heartthrob Colin Farrell (news) enlisted millions of moviegoers for their new spy thriller "The Recruit," which topped the North American box office on Sunday.

The movie, the first No. 1 from Walt Disney Co. since "The Santa Clause 2" three months ago, grossed $16.5 million in its first three days.

New releases also took the Nos. 2 and 3 spots, while last weekend's champion, the thriller "Darkness Falls," fell to No. 5 with $7.5 million.

The slasher flick "Final Destination 2" opened at No. 2 with $16.2 million, followed by the African-American motorbike drama "Biker Boyz" with $10.1 million. The family crime caper "Kangaroo Jack" slipped two places to No. 4 with $9 million.

"The Recruit" stars Pacino as a CIA (news - web sites) recruiter and Farrell as one of his students at the agency's training facility. Bridget Moynahan (news) plays Farrell's love interest.

Disney distribution president Chuck Viane said the film offered plenty of "twists and turns," while Farrell "proved he has got the right stuff."

The 26-year-old Dublin native previously starred in the little-seen war movie "Tigerland" and last year's Tom Cruise (news) vehicle "Minority Report." He is now keeping the gossip pages busy with tales of his romantic escapades.

For Pacino, 62, his last No. 1 movie was the football drama "Any Given Sunday" in December 1999.

DEATH POPULAR

"Final Destination 2" beat the $10 million bow of the 2000 original. Considerably more graphic, with decapitations, gougings, skull piercings and amputations, the film pits a woman with special gifts (A.J. Cook) against the grim reaper. It rated strongest among its target demographic of viewers aged 21 to 34. Its distributor, New Line Cinema, is a unit of AOL Time Warner Inc .

"Biker Boyz" revolves around a collection of black motorcycle clubs in Los Angeles and a climactic race between stars Laurence Fishburne (news) and Derek Luke. Rock star Kid Rock adds some fuel to the ensemble. The film was released by privately held DreamWorks SKG.

After three weeks, "Kangaroo Jack" hopped to $45.9 million and should end up with about $75 million, said Dan Fellman, president of distribution at Warner Bros., also a unit of AOL Time Warner. It was budgeted at about $60 million.

"Darkness Falls," revolving around an old ghoul dubbed the Tooth Fairy, advanced to $22.3 million after 10 days. Its distributor, Columbia Pictures, is a unit of Sony Corp (news - web sites) . The film cost $11 million to make.

Among new limited releases, the romantic New Age satire "The Guru" enchanted a promising $648,000 from just 62 theaters in the top 10 markets. The low-budget film, which stars English actor Jimi Mistry, Heather Graham (news) and Marisa Tomei (news), was released by Universal Pictures, a unit of Vivendi Universal SA .

In the milestone department, seventh-ranked "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" added $5 million to reach $315.9 million and pass the total of its 2001 predecessor. "The Fellowship of the Ring" took 116 days to reach $313 million. The sequel passed that mark on Saturday, its 45th day.

Assuming the fantasy epic gets a few mentions when Academy Award nominations are announced on Feb. 11, New Line executives hope it will finish with about $350 million.

New releases next weekend include the comedies "How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days," starring Kate Hudson (news) and Matthew McConaughey (news); "Shanghai Knights," starring Jackie Chan (news) and Owen Wilson (news); and "Deliver Us From Eva," starring LL Cool J and Gabrielle Union (news).

LOS ANGELES(Reuters) - Following are the final data for the top 10 movies at the North American box office during the Jan. 31-Feb. 2 weekend, according to studio figures released Monday by Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.

Film Three-day Cumulative

1. The Recruit .......... $16,302,063

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $16,302,063

2. Final Destination 2 .......... $16,017,141

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $16,017,141

3. Biker Boyz .......... $10,106,992

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $10,106,992

4. Kangaroo Jack .......... $9,048,362

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $45,886,113

5. Chicago .......... $7,052,983

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $50,631,500

6. Darkness Falls .......... $7,018,372

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $21,802,315

7. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers .......... $5,088,421

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $316,026,494

8. Catch Me If You Can .......... $5,075,589

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $152,158,678

9. Just Married .......... $4,811,257

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $49,730,339

10. About Schmidt .......... $4,515,337

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $44,193,308

Reuters/Variety

John L.:  Another new movie this week.  The Recruit is supposed to finally make Colin Farrell a big movie star. He still has a long way to go, but Hollywood is doing everything they can to make him popular as he is in Daredevil and Phonebooth in the next couple of months.  A horror movie sequel has been released and we will look at it this week.

It seems that every horror movie that gets even a slight following always ends up getting a sequel. Final Destination 1 was an original horror film about how fate can come back and bite you in the ass. A person had a freak premonition of mass death and saved several people from dying in a plane crash. Unfortunately, it was their time to die, so Death itself seeked revenge on all who defied it's master plan. The movie ended with the few remaining survivors still being attacked by inanimate objects moving by themselves. Final Destination 2 is a directly related sequel that plays more like a remake than a continuation of the story. Instead of plane crash, there is a multi car pile up on the highway that is supposed to kill several people. A young girl, Kimberly (A. J. Cook) is on a road trip with her friends when she suddenly realizes that if she drives ten more feet she and all of her friends along with a cop, a stoner, a motorcyclist, a lottery winner, a widowed mother and her son, an 8 month pregnant woman, and several others will all explode and be dismembered when a telephone pole like log falls off the back of a truck. Her instincts were right, and several potential deaths are prevented, but not before we get to see in all its glory what would have happened if she had driven that 10 feet. The opening sequence on the highway is quite spectacular in its brutality. Soon, however, Kimberly realizes that the people she had blocked off on the expressway are starting to die in very bizarre ways similarly to the ways people died a few years ago who had survived the plane crash. The leap to that realization is a little too quick for me, but at least when Kim confronts others with her thoughts, people actually believe her and try to do what they can to beat or at least anticipate their fate. Not many succeed. Final Destination 2 is a ridiculous movie in its execution, but if you just sit back and wait to see what Death will do to these hapless souls next, you won't be disappointed. People are speared, crushed, gouged, blown up, sliced into several pieces, and beheaded all to make up for what should have been. The cool thing about the FD movies is that there is not physical madman killer. Death never shows its true hand. It is all sort of telekinetic in its actions. Things movie by themselves until they reach their target and then bam! It is just an excuse to kill people in increasingly more violent ways. The main plot is simple enough that these movies could be made forever since there is really no way to stop Death from doing whatever it damn well pleases. If you want to die in your sleep at the age of 100 then hope that you never see it coming. When it is your time, it's your time. Don't get on that plane, then expect to have a plate glass window fall on your ass. Don't cross that street, expect there to be a gas leak in your house just as your chain smoking cousin Joe comes over to visit. Don't drive through the one laned construction zone during rush hour, expect your girlfriend to contract chlamydia causing your balls to fall off or something. Very scary stuff. The acting in the movie is nothing to speak of, but special note is to be made of Ali Larter and Tony Todd, whose characters survived the first movie. Ali Larter plays Clear who has committed herself to an asylum to prevent Death from sticking a hot poker up her ass. She gets to pontificate on the ways to defy destiny and her dialogue is typical first movie survivor, second movie expertise advice that really does no one any good. She is just there to help the connection between the two movies be more honest. Tony Todd returns as the mortician, Mr. Bludworth. His 5 minutes scene in the first movie was great, but here he does nothing but babble and was pretty pointless. If they make a third movie, hopefully he will get to do more than just glare and snicker. Final Destination 2 is the type of horror film that will make you afraid to do an everyday thing like drive down the street. After seeing this movie, you will be a lot more cautious. Unfortunately being too cautious will probably cause you to end up with a radio falling into your bubble bath. Final Review: 2 1/2 stars out of 5; 6 out of 10; B-; thumbs up.

REST OF THE TOP 10 IN 10:

1.   The year of Colin Farrell begins as Recruit opens at #1 and his 4th tier role in Daredevil should lead him to his third straight number one movie in the past 12 months.  

2.    Al Pacino is back after falling in his face last summer with S1MONE.

3.    Yes Virginia, African Americans do ride motorcycles.

4.    Kangaroo Jack is now the first sleeper hit of the year.

5.    Chicago has already won the Golden Globe for Best Comedy/Musical and is on track to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.

6.    If Darkness Falls had been rated R, it might have attracted a larger horror fanbase.

7.    I seriously doubt that Gollum will get an Oscar nomination beyond being a cool special effect.

8.    Catch Me If You Can is Leonardo DiCaprio's first legit hit movie since Titanic.

9.    Just Married may not be extremely popular, but at least Ashton and Britney found real life love.

10.    I am really upset that people are kissing About Schmidt's ass as being a really good movie.

Next week I will have a Shanghai Knights and Chicago review.  Ooo baby.  Bye for now.