It’s probably not a great sign that throughout this experience I was wishing the movie was about Laurence Fishburne’s character rather than the protagonist.
That protagonist is Charlie Heller (Rami Malek), the titular Amateur who works as a cryptographer with the CIA. Rather than conducting missions in the field, he works at the agency’s headquarters in the digital space. That is until his wife is killed in a London terrorist attack.
Following the incident, Heller sets out on a path of revenge. After picking up some training from special operative Robert Henderson (Fishburne), Charlie sets off on a multi-nation quest of payback against those behind the London plot, even if he has to go against the CIA to get it done.
Revenge films can often be enjoyable. The best ones offer a likable hero worth rooting for who has strong emotional motivation, and on their personal mission, take out bad guys in satisfying fashion. That’s why it’s always disappointing when one falls flat, and that’s the case with “The Amateur.”
This Rami Malek starring vehicle is unfortunately, quite dull. There are large swaths of dry periods between the film’s more exciting set pieces and even those aren’t stellar. The film offers one standout when the main character gets revenge on a guy in a glass swimming pool, but other than that, the picture is light on entertainment value.
It’s understandable that this film wanted to go in a more unique route and not have its protagonist be a one-man army who’s able to wipe the floor with any baddie in his way. Having him be more inexperienced but motivated isn’t a bad premise.
But when push comes to shove, the action/revenge set-pieces end up being a letdown. They don’t hold enough emotional catharsis, nor do they put a person on the edge of their seat. On top of needing more creativity behind them, there is also the issue of tone.
At some points, “The Amateur” seems like its more of a straightforward action-thriller, while others it feels like it wants to be a darker, more grounded revenge drama that touches on grief. It leads to inconsistencies with the main character arc and several action scenes.
There’s also the fact that Malek really doesn’t bring much personality to a character who’s already hard to relate to. Charlie is more introverted, which isn’t a problem in itself. But with those characters, an audience really need to see something more burning inside of them.
Take the character Driver by Ryan Gosling in “Drive,” who was emotionally guarded and closed off, but had so much more going on under the surface. Charlie is also more of a reserved character, but lacks that depth and passion needed to get invested.
Malek fails to really make the character memorable, too. His performance adds little in terms of intrigue or character bits to make a good protagonist. The movie tries to build somewhat of an emotional connection by having some moments where Charlie is imagining his late wife talking to him but they’re mostly awkward and don’t capture the tragic romance enough.
The supporting characters are largely forgettable for the most part as well. Caitriona Balfe’s foreign contact character is basically a blank slate offering little overall, while Holt McCallany’s CIA director feels out of-place with how he plays the character.
It doesn’t help that he is involved in a rather unnecessary side-plot that could have been cut. The only bright spot really is Fishburne’s character, and, again, I wish the film had been about him.
“The Amateur” has a couple of enticing moments and is not entirely poorly made, but it is largely lackluster. The film is tonally inconsistent, has a less-than-compelling protagonist, an uninspired lead performance and doesn’t provide the suspense an audience is looking for. 2 out of 5.
Matthew Liedke on Film 