The Amateur Review

If nothing else, The Amateur is a professionally made film. Director James Hawes whirls his camera through various real-world locations, the film’s plot (provided by writers Ken Nolan and Gary Spinelli) ties everything together, and the actors supply enough of a spark in their performances to keep us engaged. Maybe this is damning with faint praise, but the film goes about its business.

The business of The Amateur is the CIA, and the function of one man in its massive intelligence network. That man is Charlie (Rami Malek), a data analyst labouring in anonymity who is moved to act after his wife (Rachel Brosnahan, in yet another thankless role) is killed in a terrorist attack. Yes, instead of bereavement leave, Charlie wants revenge. And to get it, he’ll need training. What follows is almost a novel conceit, in which this data dork leverages what he knows (and his considerable tech skills) to get special-ops training from the CIA; call it a Reverse Jason Bourne. Hawes’ direction doesn’t reach the level of those spy thrillers, but it apes them well enough. Malek’s performance, meanwhile, is close to a return to form (e.g. most similar to his star-making turn in TV’s Mr. Robot) after some lean years since winning an Oscar. The supporting roles beyond that (including a welcome spot for Holt McCallany and an easy one for Laurence Fishburne) buttress the rest of the film’s efforts. There aren’t many (or any) surprises here, but it’s not unenjoyable to watch Malek’s Charlie figure out what he’s capable of.

What’s missing from The Amateur is an attempt from Hawes or the writers to see what they might be capable of. Instead, not only can we predict the film’s narrative, but it also ends on a tired note of rah-rah Americanism. This film should have been funnier or more sinister in its take on CIA operations (and malfeasance). Somehow, there’s no grand conspiracy of interest here—it’s just another day at the office.