jmc4769

It's funny to me how when people don't like a movie, they obsess over holes in the plot. But when they like a movie, they're willing to overlook them. Yes, The Amateur has some plot holes. But they are the typical ones that you find in spy movies, including the Bourne movies. Just to take one glaring example, the CIA can find anyone anywhere in the world within minutes because they have live access to every CCTV camera on every street and instant facial recognition.

If you can accept the preposterous premise of this movie - that a nerdy CIA cryptographer can do a better job of catching the bad guys than the real CIA spies - then it's a very enjoyable B-movie, like the ones Hollywood used to make all the time. Sure, it doesn't have the production values or the star power of a Bourne movie. And I would put it below the incredible Black Doves TV series. But I enjoyed The Amateur more than the recent Black Bag movie (too much boring filler and not enough substance) and The Day of the Jackal TV series. Even though Jackal had exceptional production values and great acting, Rami Malik is more appealing than Eddie Redmayne, and it's so much more fun to root for a good guy than an assassin. The Amateur also has a much more satisfying ending.

All of the three main female performances are a cut above what you would expect for a spy movie, thanks to good acting by Brosnahan, Gray, and Nicholson. I wasn't bored for a minute; still I liked the way the movie occasionally takes breaks from the action for some serious well-written conversations.

This movie is much better than the bad reviews would lead you to believe. OK, so it's a cheaper knockoff of The Quiet Place. But that doesn't take away from the enjoyment. It's a fun movie if you like the sci-fi monster genre. The script and the acting are above average for this type of movie. It's also nice to see the Colorado mountains scenery. Just like in The Quiet Place, you have to accept one dumb premise in order to be able to enjoy the movie: For some unexplained reason, the monsters can't go above 8000 feet. This movie doesn't have as many holes in the plot as The Quiet Place series. And ending is much better. You actually find out where the monsters came from. It's also easy to figure out why they are killing everyone.