The Amateur (2025)

The Amateur sees Rami Malek play Heller who is a CIA decoder who loses his wife when she is involved in a terrorist attack in London. After the CIA seems reluctant to move with any speed  he decides to go into business for himself and track down the people who were responsible for the death of his wife. He is assessed by Henderson played by Laurence Fishburne who decides that he isn't a killer and then Heller goes off before he is caught. The rest of the film is a sort of cat and mouse affair with the end goal of Heller getting justice.

As much as I like Rami Malek, I don't think he was particularly good as the lead. He was great in Oppenheimer where he has a supporting role and wasn't the worst thing in Bohemian Rhapsody but he was a bit disappointing in No Time to Die. He gives off that moody vibe but it seems to not work when he has to be the grieving husband. It was nice to see Laurence FIshburne in something good. I think the last time I saw him was in Megalopolis and he was wasted in that film even though he was one of the few good things in that dumpster fire. He does have a sort of mentor role but then briefly he does become someone who is after Heller but when that doesn't go to plan he disappears for the rest of the movie before having a heart to heart moment at the end of the film. Jon Bernthal was wasted a bit in this film. He has two blink and you’ll miss it moments at the beginning and then doesn't appear until towards the end before having a not really important scene with Malek. Bernthal plays unhinged very well and it would have been nice to see some of that in this movie but I suppose it would have taken the attention away from Malek.

The kills that occur at the hands of Heller are quite good and they are good because as Heller is told, he isn't a killer and he doesnt kill anyone with a bullet but in quite creative ways. Two of them do happen in the trailer but one a) isn't really at his hand and b) does come out of nowhere (a bit like the van). I like the fact that when he meets the guy who actually killed his wife, he goes through with killing him but handing him over to the authorities. Some might have an issue with this and feel like its a bit of a cop out but Heller isn't a killer and he becomes a better person by doing what he does. Another thing that might annoy some people is how Director Moore and his sidekick have been conducting illegal CIA operations. I thought it played into how Heller would do things and it felt like a satisfying end to the film.

This film is directed by James Hawes who previously directed the Anthony Hopkins led film ‘One Life’ and I think in some ways this film is better because the film does have some memorable moments which ‘One Life’ doesn't have. The Amateur is a good film to watch but its hardly original. Guy seeks revenge after the death of a loved one. It doesn't win on the originality side of things but it does what it does quite well. It is very Bond and Bourne but would have been a better film with someone other than Rami Malek. There is a sort of sequel bait at the end but I think that this film might be better as a solo outing.