L'amateur

We've been bombarded with vengeance movies lately. I enjoy a good vengeance movie, providing the revenge is justified and exacted only on those who deserve it (therefore definitely NOT any of the John Wick movies with its kill counts well into the hundreds!)

In 'The Amateur', Rami Malek stars as Charlie Heller, who works in Decryption Analysis for the CIA. When his wife Sarah is killed in a terrorist attack in London and the CIA refuses to intervene, Charlie takes matters into his own hands. Being the genius puzzle solver he is, Charlie utilizes surveillance cameras and advanced technology to identify the four terrorists.

Charlie discovers his Director, Alex Moore, to be a rogue agent, and blackmails him to give him special CIA training. Trained by Col. Robert Henderson, Charlie soon realizes he would never be able to kill someone at gunpoint. Instead, he decides to use his knowledge to his advantage. But now, Moore and Henderson are on his trail to eliminate 'loose ends'.

Charlie meets Inquiline, whose husband worked for the KGB, but was killed. She continues to provide information to the CIA under a code name. They team up to bring the terrorists to justice. Unlike many cliched movies, this does not develop into a romance, which I found refreshing and more realistic.

The film dishes up a lot of information and it is so exciting that there's hardly time to blink! A Good script and solid performances elevates 'The Amateur' above so many other vengeance movies. I did find some of his measures maybe a bit too extreme, but in general this is a believable and thoroughly entertaining action thriller.

"The Amateur" is a decent but unremarkable spy thriller that flirts with greatness without ever fully reaching it. The premise is intriguing, and there are some genuinely engaging sequences that show the potential the film had. Unfortunately, the overall execution is a bit clunky.

The script feels uneven-some parts are compelling, while others fall into predictable territory with dialogue that doesn't always land. The pacing suffers from occasional lulls, and certain character motivations could have used more development. Still, the central performance does carry some emotional weight, and there are flashes of tension that work well.

It's not without its strengths: the cinematography is solid, the score adds the right atmosphere, and there are a few scenes that manage to stand out. But by the end, "The Amateur" leaves the impression of a thriller that plays things a little too safe.

Watchable, with moments of quality-but it doesn't quite rise above average.

Mission impossible/James bond esque elements so it's nothing we haven't seen before but it's still very much worth watching, we were thoroughly entertained for the just over 2 hours. I'd give it a 7.5.

I like the angle they went with the tech nerd it made it uniquely interesting instead of the typical assassin killer type. The pacing was good, the events unfolding were logical and also intriguing by showing the CIA capabilities of surveillance and information, the music was awesome along with the cinematics. The acting was pretty standard, nothing to ride home about but some of these reviews are pretty harsh for no good reason.

All in all it's a good movie and worth a theater experience, or just wait till it's on streaming I'll be a great movie for a night in.

I just saw The Amateur and I was pleasantly surprised. I am not a fan of a lot of the non-stop action movies that leave one feeling as if they had been shot out a cannon for 90 minutes, and this movie wasn't like that. There was, I thought, a nice build up that gave you a sense of the character and that he was an unlikely choice as an international assassin. I the thought the use of suspense was good, ratcheting things up as it went along, and I was surprised and intrigued by some of the twists and escapes. I haven't seen a lot of Rami Malek, but I really liked him in this role. I always like Lawrence Fishburn, and he was good, as were a couple of heavies that Charlie outwits in the end. All in all, a good movie, one I was glad to have seen. If they make a sequel, I will likely see that as well.

7.25/10 STARS - Saw this was based on a book and now I'm interested to listen to the audiobook (narrated by Scott Brick, who is a fantastic narrator). The movie itself was pretty good, and I enjoyed it. There were some issues here and there with conveniences when it came to his ability to get things done and some moments where suspension of disbelieve was required. Perhaps this was partly because it felt like there was a lot omitted along the way, not clearly showing us how he was able to accomplish what he did. Maybe some more scenes showing him having to figure out how to get to where he needed to be in order to sabotage something would have been good (like in the swimming pool scene). But since this movie was already more than two hours long, I suppose it might be a bit much to show us everything. I liked that we got a good feel for the main characters intense grief over the loss of his wife and his determination to make everyone pay - yet totally out of his element when it came to the brutality of face-to-face killing. Video review will be available on my YouTube channel shortly.