2025 has given us back-to-back movies about unlikely action heroes driven by love. Coming out on the heels of Novocaine, The Amateur lacks the other film’s self-aware humor and bombastic action. Both films nail the lead casting, however. Just as we can easily buy Jack Quaid as a nice guy thrown into over-the-top circumstances, Rami Malek is well-suited to play a tech genius who would be a supporting player in any other film. Following a personal tragedy, though, he takes matters into his own hands… kind of. Malek’s character might not get literal blood on his hands, but his phone, computer, and other devices are instruments of death.
Malek plays Charles Heller, a somewhat awkward CIA cryptographer who comes out of his shell whenever home with his wife Sarah (Rachel Brosnahan). When Sarah dies in a terrorist attack, Charles uses his very particular set of skills to track her killers down. The higher-ups are reluctant to take action due to their conflicting agenda. Enraged, Charles blackmails his boss (Holt McCallany) to give him field training. The CIA decides to humor Charles while they contemplate their next move, assigning him to a field veteran named Robert Henderson (Laurence Fishburne).
From the second Charles holds a gun, it’s clear he won’t be able to pull the trigger when the time comes. Charles finds that he doesn’t need firearms to exact revenge. Akin to a tech-savvy Jigsaw, Charles lures his wife’s killers into a series of elaborate traps. He gets some help from a cyber pen pal (Caitríona Balfe). Sometimes, it seems like Charles is a step ahead of everyone else. Other times, it’s as if he’s making it up as he goes along. Malek impeccably balances both sides of Charles, who is simultaneously the smartest man in the room and out of his element. The setup might be preposterous, but Malek is so convincing that we go along for the ride.
The rest of the ensemble is strong, especially Fishburne and Balfe, although several cast members feel underutilized. Even if she appears in a few flashbacks and dream sequences, killing off an actress of Brosnahan’s caliber feels like a waste. Julianne Nicholson also could’ve used a meatier role, although she’s still given more to than Jon Bernthal as Charles’ friend from work. Bernthal is a great actor, but you could cut him out of the movie without missing much. The biggest issue is that Sarah’s killers aren’t given much screen time. So, it’s not as satisfying when Charles exacts vengeance on villains we barely know. The only baddie who stands out is Michael Stuhlbarg, and even he doesn’t get much to do until the third act.
That said, the ways Charles disposes of enemies are inventive, especially one involving a swimming pool. While The Amateur could’ve benefitted from a shorter runtime, Malek holds the film together whenever our interest begins to waver. This adaptation of Robert Littell’s novel has been in development as far back as 2006 when Hugh Jackman was set to star. Although Jackman is a charismatic screen presence, he would’ve been wrong for the role of Charles. We know Jackson can play an action hero and he wouldn’t hesitate to shoot someone in cold blood. Malek brings the understated underdog quality that the part requires, finding a middle ground between the amateur and the professional.