Review of 'The Amateur'

CIA cryptographer Charlie Heller (Rami Malek) is devastated when his wife Sarah (Rachel Brosnahan) is killed in a terrorist attack in London. He discovers that his own agency have been involved in orchestrating drone strikes disguised as suicide bombings, implicating his own boss Alex Moore (Holt McCallany). Determined to seek justice Charlie identifies the four assailants responsible for Sarah's death and demands that a reluctant Moore send him to “The Farm” for field operations training so he can track down and kill Sarah's kill's, using as leverage his knowledge of the agency's suicide bombings. Training with Colonel Robert Henderson (Laurence Fishburne) at Camp Peary, Heller excels at bomb making but Henderson believes Heller is no killer. Undeterred, Charlie leaves the camp in search of Sarah's killers and Henderson is deployed to kill him. As Charlie takes out the assailants one at a time in very more imaginative ways the underestimating Henderson gets closer and closer to his target…

A slick, action filled spy adventure featuring a man determined to have his revenge over his wife's killer with or without the support of the CIA which, itself, is shown to have corrupt agents who will stop at nothing to keep their secrets. The imaginative action sequences really make this film quite fun to watch despite it's rather dark subject matter – I can't get out of my head the sequence with the high-rise glass-bottomed pool…The story is a bit tired with the familiar idea of institutional corruption and revenge but new life is breathed into it with the slick action sequences and slightly unpredictable plot.

Malek is, as always, quite captivating on the screen with an cool intensity that perfectly suits the role of a wronged spouse with both the knowledge and resources to get what he wants. He never entirely convinces as a satisfied husband, coming into his own only when investigating corruption and planning his revenge. What is more interesting, perhaps, is Fishburne in the role as Colonel Robert Henderson who quickly realizes he has underestimated Charlie and comes to see the truth of the situation.

An interesting, if not altogether ground-breaking, action adventure featuring two of the modern cinema's hottest actors. Likely to appeal mostly to fans of spy adventures and are not too bothered with character nuance.

Rating: “Really good but I have some issues”

Review Date: 2025-08-02

Directed by: James Hawes

Studio: 20th Century Studios

Year: 2025

Length: 122 minutes

Genre: Action/Adventure

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0899043/