When I was crook as a kid, I was sent around to my grandparents house for them to look after me which was not only a treasure trove of Nana’s baking but they also had Sky satellite TV. I would find myself watching 90’s thrillers like The Fugitive, Clear and Present Danger, and The Hunt for the Red October. They were slow burners; great spy thrillers that cared about a ripping yarn and great character development first which was then followed with some great action sequences. And The Amateur reminds me of those kind of films, an old fashioned spy thriller in the best sense. More taut than it is stuffed with explosive action, The Amateur is an old fashioned spy thriller of the best kind with Rami Malek at the top of his game. 

 

Charlie Heller is a brilliant CIA decoder whose world comes crashing down when his wife dies in a London terrorist attack. When his supervisors refuse to take action, his intelligence becomes the ultimate weapon as he embarks on a dangerous trek across the globe to track down those responsible.

 

The Amateur starts and ends with the character of Charlie Heller, their protagonist. You have to not only believe that Heller is an introverted nerd but that he’s also able to transform into a killing machine within the two hour runtime. It’s a pretty big jump due to the way in which the character is written and the way Malek completely embodies him at the beginning of the film. But they largely bridge this gap through Heller bumbling through the first assassination attempt and again through Malek's superb performance.

 

The Amateur is at its best in the first couple of acts as Heller is put through his training paces by Laurence Fishburne’s gruff CIA trainer Henderson. The action and attempted assassination of his wife’s killers is thrilling stuff as Heller’s hunt for justice and revenge takes him around the globe. The finale, while satisfying, is a little too neat and doesn’t ring as true as the previous couple of acts. 

 

Malek is incredible here delivering one of his best performances in recent memory giving us a character that is completely believable not only in his introvertedness but also as he battles the moral implications of his actions. 

 

More taut than it is stuffed with explosive action, The Amateur is an old fashioned spy thriller of the best kind with Rami Malek at the top of his game.