The Amateur: A Man’s Quest To Balance The Scales After His Wife’s Murder

What should you do if a loved one was murdered? Would you leave it up to the law enforcers to apprehend the fiends or would you become a vigilante and avenge the guilty parties responsible? That’s the predicament Charles Heller (Rami Malek) finds himself, in the action spy thriller The Amateur directed by James Hawes, when his wife is killed during a London terror attack.

Heller is a CIA cryptographer and when he realises his bosses are reluctant to chase the culprits owing to internal issues, he blackmails them into receiving mission specific training which would prepare him for the daunting task ahead.

“I want to face my wife’s killers, look at them in the eyes and balance the scales,” he tells his superiors who perceive him as something of a wimp responding, “I don’t think you could beat a 90-year-old nun in an arm-wrestling match”.

Ultimately, he’s told that regardless of the training he’s received he simply can’t do the task as he’s not a killer – he’s laughably regarded amongst his peers as The Amateur.

Nevertheless he goes on a one-man mission – will he succeed in his quest for vengeance, or will he face the consequences? Is revenge sweet and more importantly was he misjudged as a weakling and pushover?

After an emotional beginning the story builds slowly, working predominantly on suspense. Extremely low on action, many may find this movie noneventful and dull. However, thinking audiences who enjoy watching espionage movies which detail the intricate investigative methods professionals utilize in searching and chasing criminals around the globe, should find this fulfilling entertainment.

For optimum enjoyment audiences should leave their reality meters switched off before entering the cinema, as the storylines are totally improbable and border on nonsense.

There are four people to avenge, hence four grotesque killing methods which are original and quite disturbing. These should raise the viewers’ interest and keep them captivated during the slow-paced yet compelling scenes.

Filming locations are in Italy, Istanbul, Spain, Prague, Romania, France and Russia, which highlights the extreme expense producers have incurred to allure moviegoers into cinemas.

Egyptian born Rami Malek won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in the drama series Mr Robot and also an Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury in the hit biographical film Bohemian Rhapsody in 2018. However, audiences may be divided as to whether his performance as an unconventional action hero in The Amateur compares highly to his previous works.

Moviegoers who enjoy action-packed movies should steer away from this movie which simply has a few spurts of action. A high voltage finale was anticipated which would have provided some excitement in the final moments but unfortunately wasn’t to be. The finale was underwhelming – a fizzer – which may leave a large portion of audiences disappointed as they exit the cinema.

The Amateur

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The Amateur is in cinemas now.