THE AMATEUR, US, 2025. Starring Rami Malek, Rachel Brosnahan, Jon Bernthal, Laurence Fishburne. Directed by James Hawes. 123 minutes. Rated M (Mature themes and violence)
Based on a novel by Newsweek reporter, Robert Littell, The Amateur was first filmed in 1981 with John Savage and Christopher Plummer. It was the era of popular spy novels by Robert Ludlum in one wit suggested that this version of The Amateur is ‘Bourne Again’! Not exactly, action sequences yes, but the central character here, Charlie Heller, played by Oscar winner Malek (Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody) would not necessarily be the first choice for an action hero.
In fact, he plays a highly skilled IT expert, perhaps of the ‘nerd’ variety, at home in his sealed office and IT centre, making contacts, tracking, identifying voices, but also discovering that some of the CIA authorities are conducting illegal black ops.
This is where a film version of 1980s CIA action gives way to the reality of today, with developments in IT, social networking, mobile phones, instant connections, instant surveillance and storage of information.
Heller is devastated to learn his beloved wife Sarah (Brosnahan) has been killed during a robbery while visiting London. Acceptance is not Heller’s first response. Rather, he becomes obsessed with revenge.
As action films go, Heller’s determination to extract revenge is a driving force in this action. We see him undergoing some rigorous CIA action training and learn he is not very good with the gun. As a bonus, the audience is treated to a wide range of location action – London, Paris, Marseille, Istanbul, in Romania, the Baltic coast . . . Heller not only identifies the villains, especially the one who pulled the trigger, but he is able to track them down, them, destroy them.
However, as with so many action films, there is the issue of the plausibility, and then the question of credibility. With the action moving fast, what about realism and practical details of food, rest, toilet breaks, money in the pocket, the functioning or not of IT equipment, travel and air tickets . . .? Do audiences accept these omissions because of the action?
As always, there are some moral questions and complications. The role of the CIA, illegal and secret black ops in the name of patriotism, these agents being held to account, international criminal gangs, ruthless business and murders, and, with Heller himself, the obsession of revenge and ensuing murders. With Malek as the amateur action hero grieving the death of his wife, rather than an all-conquering beefed-up agent, there is also some emotional challenges.
20th Century Studios
Released 10 April