The Amateur (3 stars out of 4)
Directed by James Hawes, “The Amateur” is a solid spy thriller that crosses elements of the “Bourne” franchise with this year’s “Black Bag” and echoes of Liam Neeson’s “Taken” films.
The story follows a CIA cryptography analyst named Heller (Rami Malek) who takes a dramatic career turn in the wake of a personal tragedy. Brilliant, happily married but somewhat aloof, Heller’s wide eyes and slight frame belie feelings of insecurity when matched up against the more adventurous element of his agency. In particular, he wishes a field operative named The Bear (Jon Bernthal) would treat him as an equal instead of just tech support.
This pensive existence is throttled by two jarring events. First, a confidential source gives Heller information that suggests impropriety within the agency. Then Heller’s wife Sarah (Rachel Brosnahan) is murdered in a terrorist attack while attending a conference in London.
Despite Heller’s determined efforts to contribute to the investigation, his superiors—including Deputy Director Moore (Holt McCallany)—seem oddly disinterested in bringing his wife’s murderers to justice. So Heller takes things into his own hands, and tries to leverage his inside information to get field training from a veteran operative named Henderson (Laurence Fishburne) so he can kill the terrorists himself.
The ill-advised scheme goes predictably wrong, and Heller only narrowly evades an assassination attempt before heading to Europe in search of his wife’s killers. The field training may have failed, but it shows Heller that he will have to rely on his own particular set of skills if his mission is to succeed.
This all sets up an entertaining sequence of cat-and-mouse plot lines that see Heller chasing his prey while evading Henderson, who is sent to finish him off.
Malek’s performance as Heller is effective and sympathetic, even though at times you question whether his lust for vengeance is enough to justify the collateral damage he’s causing. Based on the novel by Robert Littell, the story keeps you guessing at the plot and sometimes at its logic, but luckily the various parts come together in a satisfying way by the end of the film.
In its better moments, “The Amateur” inspires comparisons to the “Bourne” series, albeit with a protagonist who is dangerously unqualified, at least in terms of combat skills. One of the more interesting elements of the movie is the way Heller is forced to use his considerable skills as an analyst, plus his own wits to accomplish his goals.
With a PG-13 rating, “The Amateur” is pretty accessible as an action spy thriller, though its violence is pretty tame compared to the hand-to-hand fisticuffs of the aforementioned Bourne movies. It’s also a nice complement to the recent “Black Bag,” which focused almost exclusively on the internal workings of the international spy scene.
Overall, “The Amateur” may not rank on the all-time spy movie list, but it has a lot to offer.
“The Amateur” is rated PG-13 for elements of violence and sensuality.