The Amateur (2025)

<em>'The Amateur'</em> is not all that believable or unique, but it without question made for a satisfying time at the movies for me. It feels like a long while since I've seen Rami Malek in anything; fwiw, <em>'Oppenheimer'</em> over a year ago. This makes for a strong return into my world.

Malek is the beating heart of the movie, as you'd expect. I mentioned that it doesn't come across as all that plausible, though that is only in regards to what the film ends up portraying; Malek is convincing as the main dude. Elsewhere, Laurence Fishburne and Michael Stuhlbarg are good.

I was fully invested from beginning to end, so I can't really harbour any complaints. It's pure and simply a very well done movie, in my eyes at least. After the very good <em>'One Life'</em? and now this, James ...

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://movieswetextedabout.com/the-amateur-movie-review-can-revenge-heal-grief/

"The Amateur ends up being a mild disappointment, especially given the legitimate expectations raised by the talent involved, both in front of and behind the camera.

Despite a committed performance from Rami Malek, James Hawes' adaptation fails to escape a formulaic, timid, and emotionally shallow narrative - its simplicity and lack of surprise stand as its most significant flaws. There are occasional glimpses of emotional weight, but the script rarely ventures into more complex or thematically challenging territory, resulting in an experience that might entertain in the most basic sense.

For a spy thriller with introspective ambitions, its biggest misstep was settling for t...

“Heller” (Rami Malek) is the geeky “Jack Ryan” type, stuck in an office five floors below sunlight working on intelligence gathering and decrypting for the CIA. Intrigued by his latest set of dossiers from a deep throat somewhere on the internet, he suspects he has stumbled upon something nefarious. Before he has time to investigate, though, he hears that his wife has been the victim of a terrorist attack in London and so now he’s seeing red. Using the information he has recently obtained as leverage, he gets himself trained and equipped for an operational mission to get some revenge. Thing is, “Heller” isn’t a natural born killer, and despite the best efforts of his handler “Henderson” (Laurence Fishburne) he isn’t considered likely to be much more effective than a w...

I wont mix my words the only way to describe "The Amateur", is painfully long winded and ultimately, boring as hell.

There are a lot of things that could have been done with what is, essentially, an action thriller. Regrettably, the overly long lead in, combined with the unreasonably timid handling, leads to a anti climatic experience, where the pay off in terms of thrills and actual action, never really arrives.

Its by no means the casts fault. Lead actor, Rami Malek is as capable and convincing, as ever. The problem, in this reviewers opinion, is yet another case of a weak script, that needed to be thoroughly re-written.

In summary, the concepts solid but the execution is lack lustre, long winded and excessively timid. Not recommended....