On April 10, cinemas started showing the spy thriller «The Amateur», which is based on the 1981 novel of the same name by Robert Littell. This is the second attempt by filmmakers to bring Littell’s work to the screen after the Canadian adaptation of the same name, which premiered shortly after the novel was published, in late 1981. Nowadays, few people will remember that film with John Savage and Christopher Plummer. In the review below, we will find out whether the new adaptation, this time with «Oscar» winner Rami Malek and Oscar nominee Lawrence Fishburne in the lead, can be remembered.
Genre spy thriller
Director James Groves
Starring Rami Malek, Rachel Brosnahan, Laurence Fishburne, Caitriona Balfe, John Bernthal, Michael Stuhlbarg, Adrian Martinez, Gault McCallany, Julianne Nicholson, Takehiro Hira
Premiere movie theaters
Year of release 2025
Website IMDb, official website
A humble young man named Charles Heller works as a cryptographer for the CIA on the -5th floor in a windowless room with big, beautiful monitors. He is also married to a beautiful woman named Sarah, whom he loves very much. One day, she goes on a business trip to London, and Charlie himself receives interesting information from his informant. The fact is that this secret information reveals dubious operations carried out under the leadership of CIA Deputy Director Alex Moore, Charlie’s immediate superior.
But in London, the irreparable happens — some terrorists kill Sarah, and Moore assures the unfortunate widower that the perpetrators will be punished. Later, however, when it becomes clear that the case is not progressing at all, Charlie decides to take revenge on his beloved’s killers himself. He forces his superiors to organize combat training for him, resorting to blackmail, fortunately, compromising information came in handy. Moore and his colleague play along, realizing that the planned punitive mission is unlikely to be completed by an ordinary analyst and that he will not survive it. But it seems that Charlie has something to surprise his enemies and detractors.
Only recently, we talked about how the «Black Bag» in the same spy thriller genre, Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett skillfully played a married couple in a «man and woman — one union» plot, as we are presented with another genre example.
For director James Groves, this is only the second feature film in his career after the heartbreaking biographical drama «One Life» with Anthony Hopkins. And he, along with screenwriters Ken Nolan and Gary Spinelli, is noticeably more straightforward than Soderbergh. And his movie is about something else, namely — about the brutal revenge of someone who «loses to a 90-year-old nun in arm wrestling». On the other hand, Gose’s film also declares the basic truth that spies, whether they are tough field operatives or ordinary office workers, are also human, and nothing human is alien to them.
In short, it’s a story about a nerd who finally decides to take up a gun and go punish the bad guys (but at last, his intellect wins). Moreover, a beginner has to learn on the go — a few trainings and instructions from the authoritative Lawrence Fishburne can hardly be called very useful. For example, to pick a lock to get into someone else’s home, the newly minted avenger uses the corresponding video instruction from the Internet during the process, and at this point it is impossible to resist laughing.
Fragile characters with guns are also becoming trendy nowadays, far from the masculine invincible images of Schwarzenegger or killing machines like John Wick, who, by the way, is also familiar with the theme of revenge. In fact, «amateur» Malek — is literally the antithesis «pro» Statham.
Last month, an ordinary bank teller, played by Jack Quaid in «Novocain». If you recall, the main character’s superpower was absolute insensitivity to pain. Although Rami Malek is no stranger to playing in spy movies after his villainous performance in «No Time to Die», he barely qualifies as an action hero. So his character’s superpower is a sharp mind.
Unfortunately, despite the unconventional moves from the local, not to quote Jon Bernthal, punisher, «The Amateur» is extremely difficult to call a movie that can surprise. Moreover, the idea of emphasizing that it is not necessary to immediately grab a grenade launcher in order for the bad guys to get what they deserve is achieved at the expense of, let’s say, questionable decisions — starting with the ridiculous idea of Charlie Heller as such and the behavior of his superiors and ending with the weak motivation of the protagonist’s accomplice.
The narrative is supported by the genre’s usual wide geography: together with Malek’s character, we will visit Paris and Marseille, Madrid and Istanbul, Constanta, Romania, and even take a look at the swamps, which is where modern spy movies go without mentioning them.
The movie also boasts a star-studded cast. Malek is a good sport, although he behaves with restraint, but he sets traps for his victims with the skill of a movie franchises «Saw». However, the presence of Laurence Fishburne and especially Jon Bernthal and Julianne Nicholson is not particularly felt, as they are used criminally little. At least Caitriona Belfi’s character evokes some emotions, but she is very much a secondary character. The main antagonist, played by Michael Stuhlbarg, is not worth mentioning.
On the whole, «The Amateur» goes smoothly, if not too smoothly — everything here is smooth, well done, but it’s a bit boring and predictable, like a book. So you won’t find any surprises in the movie on a candlelit afternoon. The only one that can be considered such is the well-known checkered market bag that unexpectedly appears in one of the scenes.