The new film The Amateur, starring Rami Malek and opening this weekend in theaters, is a decently entertaining revenge thriller that takes a uniquely novel approach. Malek plays Charles Heller, a truly meek and introverted CIA computer analyst. He’s definitely no James Bond type, as most of his days are spent behind a computer screen analyzing complex code and messaging from his more daring and dangerous spy counterparts stationed around the world.
But when his adoring and beautiful photographer wife, Sarah (played by Rachel Brosnahan), is taken hostage and murdered in cold blood by terrorists while on assignment in London, Heller decides to exact revenge on her killers himself—despite his utter ineptitude and lack of training as a spy, let alone one capable of killing.
Heller blackmails his CIA bosses with embarrassing evidence he’s uncovered against them, forcing them to provide him with the training he needs to hunt down his wife’s murderers, one by one. However, Heller soon realizes he doesn’t have the killer instinct to actually pull the trigger. Instead, he uses his ingenuity and intelligence to trap each of the killers in a unique and deadly situation that gets the job done. He attempts to eliminate one of them by exposing her to a lethal pollen she’s allergic to. He cleverly causes another to fall to his death from a see-through rooftop swimming pool that he sabotages electronically.
Despite a couple of plot flaws, The Amateur is solid entertainment for those willing to immerse themselves in an unconventional revenge drama. Rami Malek is convincing in his role as an unsteady nerd trying to seek justice, only to find himself in over his head. Laurence Fishburne is also very good as a CIA assassin who trains Heller—but may later be ordered to kill him.
The Amateur is an absorbing spy thriller that’s worth checking out this weekend.
Lee aquí en Español: https://elmundoboston.com/the-amateur-resena-de-cine-de-el-mundo-boston-por-tim-estiloz/
