Charlie Heller (Rami Malek) works at the CIA as a decoder and his world is plunged into chaos when his wife Sarah (Rachel Brosnahan) is murdered while on a business trip in London. Feeling guilt for not going with her, Charlie finds evidence that his bosses have covered up evidence that they caused hundreds of civilian deaths. Using the information he has as leverage, Charlie requests to be sent on training so he can exact revenge on the people that killed her. Assigned to Colonel Robert Henderson (Laurence Fishburne), Charlie realises that he’s being setup and he puts a plan in motion that sends him across the world in order to get his revenge.
‘The Amateur’ is based on the book by Robert Littell and it was a moderate hit at the box office when it was released in April this year. With shades of James Bond and the Bourne franchise, the film has lofty ambitions to be a white-knuckle revenge thriller but it only succeeds in part. The setup is delivered quickly – we see Charlie and Sarah living out a life of marital bliss, before Sarah is taken hostage during a terrorist attack in London and killed. Charlie’s world spirals but when he realises that the people he works for may be corrupt, he goes rogue to ensure that he gets the end result he wants.
The film hangs on Charlie’s intelligence, which serves him better than his ability to be ruthless. He’s warned during his training with Henderson that taking the life of another person is difficult, and when he arrives at that exact situation, he soon realises that his mission isn’t going to be as simple as he thought. For all the rage and anger he feels, Charlie struggles to cross the line and ultimately pull the trigger. Along the way there are some good set pieces, the best one being a rooftop pool suspended between two buildings, and there is plenty of intrigue to keep you interested.
Where ‘The Amateur’ struggles is in the moments where it could have really embraced the silliness of the plot. Much of the film is delivered straight-faced and it’s hard to really buy into what you’re seeing unfold on the screen. While Charlie’s mission is understandable, a little humour and a commitment to the absurdity of the plot would really have benefitted. The film also delivers a bit of a damp squib of a finale, after setting things up nicely for an explosive ending.
Rami Malek is pretty much in ‘Mr. Robot’ mode for the entirety of the film. Charlie isn’t a million miles away from the character he played on that show, and Malek struggles to find much to do outside of hitting the script beats. Malek is a captivating actor, and one that is fairly unusual in some of his choices, but here he never rises to the occasion. Similarly, Laurence Fishburne is in ‘The Matrix’ mode, delivering the kind of performance he could do in his sleep. Rachel Brosnahan is under-used as Charlie’s wife Sarah but ‘Outlander’ star Catriona Balfe puts in a good turn as an ally for Charlie.
Extras on the 4K UHD release include the film on Blu-ray, as well as 4K UHD, five deleted scenes and four featurettes focusing on key moments from the film; ‘The Team’, ‘The World’, ‘The Pool’ and ‘The Score’. It must be said that the 4K UHD version of the film looks stunning. Presented in 2160p High Definition with 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos sound, there’s nothing to fault with the how the film looks or sounds.
‘The Amateur’ is a perfectly competent revenge thriller but it should have been much better. While I did enjoy the film, the climax is a let-down and it undermines the entire plot of the film. A little more focus on embracing the absurdity and allowing Malek to cut loose more with his character would have been welcome. Done right, this film could have been the start of a new franchise (should the film-makers have wanted that) but unfortunately ‘The Amateur’ feels like a one-and-done concept.
Cast: Rami Malek, Laurence Fishburne, Rachel Brosnahan, Jon Bernthal Director: James Hawes Writers: Ken Nolan & Gary Spinelli (screenplay), Robert Littell (novel) Certificate: 12 Duration: 122 mins Released by: 20th Century Studios Release date: 14th July 2025 Buy ‘The Amateur’ now
This article contains an affiliate link. Purchases through this link may result in us earning a commission.
