Review

The Amateur: surprisingly cool for a «part-time spy»

10/4/2025

Translation: Megan Cornish

The Amateur, starring Rami Malek, is a revenge thriller dressed up as a spy drama. Unlike the title would suggest, the cast’s made up of professionals on both sides of the camera. This makes the film seem a bit routine – although I wouldn’t go as far as to say generic.

Disclaimers: there are no spoilers in this review. Everything mentioned here has already been revealed in trailers.

Action, espionage, revenge – films with one or more of these ingredients used to be a regular feature in cinemas. Nowadays, the battle for audiences has shifted to the living room. Today, Netflix, Prime Video and the like are vying for top streaming figures with original productions including The Electric State and The Gray Man.

So, it might come as a bit of a surprise that The Amateur’s making its cinematic debut. And even though the film doesn’t completely win me over, I think it deserves the big screen.

What’s The Amateur about?

Charlie Heller (Rami Malek) works as a decoder for the CIA. He’s as awkward when dealing with other people as he’s confident when decrypting data. Except for when he’s with his wife Sarah (Rachel Brosnahan), whom he loves more than anything. When Sarah’s killed by terrorists in London, Charlie’s perfect world collapses. He’s adamant: her murderers must be tracked down and brought to justice. As his superiors aren’t really making – or rather, they’re unwilling to make – any progress with solving the crime, Charlie takes matters into his own hands. He blackmails the CIA to get him started with documents he should never have been allowed to see. And, as a result, Charlie soon finds himself on the trail of those responsible for his wife’s death. But who’s the cat and who’s the mouse in this game? And how many cats are there?

Charlie provides evidence, but his superior hesitates.
Source: 20th Century Studios

Who can say they’ve never wanted revenge?

Revenge as a driving force for action is a universally popular theme, from Greek tragedies (Oresteia) to novels (The Count of Monte Cristo), TV series (Revenge), and even films (Death Wish). Why is this? I say the idea of righting wrong we’ve suffered is fundamentally rooted in all of us, if we leave morals and ethics aside. So, we’re emotionally much closer to the character exacting revenge than to the one who did them wrong.

The Amateur also draws on this deeply human archetype. But as much as I can understand Charlie’s motivation, it’s only sparsely conveyed to me by Rami Malek. With a few exceptions, Charlie strikes me as distinctly unemotional, so I just follow his actions without rooting for them, let alone feeling an emotional connection. Is it because he’s gifted or has an autism spectrum disorder? That’s the impression I get at least. The film doesn’t offer an answer. Which is perhaps for the best, because that would probably only raise more questions.

Here, Sarah and Charlie are still happy together.
Source: 20th Century Studios

So many possibilities, so little made of them

That’s not to say that Oscar winner Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody) does a bad job. He carries the film and is very present in practically every shot. The fact that he doesn’t get to showcase his full acting talent is probably simply due to his role as Charlie. The rest of the cast doesn’t fare much better – so much talent was wasted.

Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) as Charlie’s wife Sarah and Julianne Nicholson (Paradise) as the CIA director are peripheral characters at best, while Jon Bernthal (The Punisher)’s completely wasted. Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix) and Holt McCallany (Mindhunter) are the only actors who come close to making an impact. But even their protagonists are given little to no depth. This makes it difficult to understand their actions and motivations. It’s a shame.

«No, I really don’t want to change my health insurance provider!»
Source: 20th Century Studios

Screenplay and direction

The script’s usually the reason for lack of character clarity. The Amateur also reveals its general lack of depth in other places. Several plot holes that leave me wondering emerge along the storyline. I can’t be more specific, because I’d have to include spoilers. There was definitely room for a bit more depth and explanation, given that the film’s a good two hours (123 minutes) long. As it is, it seems a bit too long.

From a technical perspective, director James Hawes can’t be faulted. The Amateur’s only his second feature film, following One Life with Anthony Hopkins. The Brit previously directed TV productions such as Slow Horses.

We’ve been here before

The Amateur’s a remake, based – like the 1981 original – on the spy thriller of the same name by American author Robert Littell. I haven’t read the book or seen the original. But, based on the trailer, all I can say is that it certainly looks like 1981.

There are immediately some parallels between the original and the remake, whether in terms of the basic plot or some of the names. One major difference is undoubtedly that The Amateur’s set in the present. The contemporary setting serves the plot well and opens up plenty of new possibilities for the main protagonist (all I’m saying is YouTube tutorial…).

The action in The Amateur might be a bit lacking for some, but I find it well-balanced and coherent. It’s also fitting for a protagonist who thinks and plans 12 times before acting. Let me put it this way: it’s not constant crashing and banging. But when there is a crash, it’s a big one, and the effects are flawless! Just seeing the pool scene from the trailer in its entirety on the big screen is worth half the ticket price for me.

The pool scene’s something really special.
Source: 20th Century Studios

In a nutshell

A solid spy/revenge thriller with snakes and ladders

The Amateur doesn’t reinvent the wheel in the revenge, spy or action genres. But does it really have to? We’ve seen it all before anyway (or so we think). That’s exactly where this film picks up, interweaving familiar elements with a few new ideas. And so, in the end, something unique emerges that’s definitely worth watching.

That’s about the measure of The Amateur. Imagine what could’ve been achieved with such a brilliant cast, a better script, and a slightly shorter running time.

In the film, Charlie’s told he’s not a killer. Neither’s The Amateur. More’s the pity.

Header image: 20th Century Studios

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Patrick Vogt

Editor

Patrick.Vogt@digitecgalaxus.ch

I'm a full-blooded dad and husband, part-time nerd and chicken farmer, cat tamer and animal lover. I would like to know everything and yet I know nothing. I know even less, but I learn something new every day. What I am good at is dealing with words, spoken and written. And I get to prove that here.

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