David R. Walker

The Amateur

Director: James Hawes

Cast: Rami Malek, Laurence Fishburne, Jon Bernthal, Rachel Brosnahan, Holt McCallany, Julianne Nicholson, Michael Stuhlbarg, Caitriona Balfe, Danny Sapani, Marc Rissmann, Joseph Millson

Running Time: 2 hours and 3 minutes 

Film Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Oscar winner Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody) made a convincing Bond villain in the 2021 smash hit No Time to Die but as a leading action hero his status is dubious at best.

However, One Life director James Hawes took a chance on Rami Malek as a leading man in the new spy thriller The Amateur which is like a nerd’s guide to the Jason Bourne franchise without the guns, fistfights and car chases.

Malek plays the extremely clever CIA data analyst Charlie Heller whose beautiful wife Sarah played by The Marvellous Mrs Maisel and House of Cards TV star Rachel Brosnahan who gets murdered in a terrorist attack in London while in the British capital on a business trip.

Charlie senses a CIA cover up and ignores orders not to go after the Belarussian terrorists responsible and decides to go rogue with enough hacking skills to break through any firewall.

First Charlie seeks the assistance of tough guy Henderson played with a welcome return to the big screen by Oscar nominee Laurence Fishburne (What’s Love Got to Do With it) who attempts to train him to become a killer. While Charlie doesn’t take to firing guns at bad guys he discovers a penchant for explosives and detonators which can so easily be digitally triggered.

As Charlie seeks creative revenge on the terrorists and their leader Schiller played by Michael Stuhlbarg (The Shape of Water, Call Me by Your Name), he globe trots from London to Paris to Marseilles and eventually to Istanbul where he catches up with a CIA asset the mysterious Inquiline, briefly played by Irish actress Caitriona Balfe (Ford v Ferrari, Belfast, Money Monster).

The Amateur is an enjoyably different spy thriller as Rami Malek makes for a usual spy while all the CIA hotshots played by Holt Callany and Julianne Nicholson are one step behind him.

The cinematography by Martin Ruhe was not good, many scenes appeared extremely dark and badly lit and the scriptwriters Ken Nolan and Gary Spinelli battled to get some character dimension into a rather bland screenplay adapted from the novel by Robert Litell.

Despite these drawbacks, The Amateur is an entertaining if slightly overlong film which is heavy on tech gadgets and light on action. Although there is one brilliant scene when Charlie kills a man in a rooftop swimming pool in a plush Spanish hotel. His creative revenge pays off.

If you enjoy a unique spy revenge thriller then catch The Amateur in cinemas now. The Amateur gets a film rating of 7.5 out of 10 and is no Jason Bourne but it just proves that never underestimate the tech guys in the basement level. Recommended viewing.

Rami Malek is excellent in the main role, especially being cast against type.  

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