The Amateur
April 9th, 2025
MOVIE: THE AMATEUR
STARRING: RAMI MALEK; LAURENCE FISHBURNE, RACHEL BROSNAHAN, JON BERNTHAL, HOLT MCCALLANY, CAITRIONA BALFE
DIRECTED BY: JAMES HAWES
AMovieGuy.com’s RATING: 2 STARS (Out of 4)
RATING: PG-13
RUN TIME: 123 MINUTES
There’s nothing worse than wasted potential. That’s what I kept thinking after watching The Amateur, the latest revenge thriller starring Rami Malek. On paper, the premise is solid: a CIA data analyst and tech wizard gets in over his head while seeking revenge. It’s a compelling angle, especially in a genre where heroes usually go from zero to elite operative in record time (Nobody, Man on Fire, John Wick—you name it). But in execution, The Amateur is tonally inconsistent—too dark, too slow, and ultimately too dull—squandering a talented cast in the process.
Malek plays Charles Heller, a brilliant mind behind CIA tech: AI, coding, facial recognition, the whole nine yards. His wife, Sarah (Rachel Brosnahan), is tragically killed in a terrorist attack while on a book tour overseas. Grief-stricken and enraged, Heller decides to take justice into his own hands, despite repeated warnings from his superiors—Director Moore (Holt McCallany) and O’Brien (Julianne Nicholson)—to stay out of it.
The film is directed by James Hawes, with a screenplay by Ken Nolan and Gary Spinelli, adapted from Robert Littell’s novel. But it’s the behind-the-scenes work that lets the film down. The pacing is erratic, the lighting is bafflingly dim (to the point of being nearly unwatchable in some scenes), and despite Malek’s committed performance—reminding us why he’s an Oscar winner—he’s left adrift in a film that doesn’t seem to know whether it wants to thrill or wallow.
Then there’s the supporting cast—an impressive lineup utterly wasted. Laurence Fishburne shows up as Heller’s would-be mentor, but his scenes are few and fleeting. Rachel Brosnahan is reduced to a mere plot device. Caitríona Balfe, an Oscar nominee, plays a Turkish agent who helps Heller on the run, but her character barely registers beyond that. Worst of all is Jon Bernthal, who appears in just two scenes with no real consequence. Everyone is buried under a screenplay filled with exposition and lacking in actual character development.
And yet, even after all that, I still think The Amateur had potential. With a tighter script and a clearer tone, this could’ve been a solid throwback thriller. There are flashes of life—like a well-executed pool explosion—that hint at what could’ve been. In the ’90s, with a Harrison Ford or Bruce Willis in the lead, this might’ve been a hit. But instead, we’re left with a film that neither excites nor engages.
In the end, The Amateur lives up to its name, for all the wrong reasons.
2 STARS
THE AMATEUR IS PLAYING IN THEATERS FRIDAY, APRIL 11TH, 2025.
Written by: Leo Brady
