For those who have followed my reviews, it’s no secret that I’m not a fan of reboots/remakes whatsoever. The Amateur is a remake of the 1981 original, directed by Charles Jarrott and written by Robert Littell and Diana Maddox. The film is based on Littlell’s novel of the same name and stars John Savage, Christopher Plummer, and Marthe Keller. With a few tweaks to the countries involved and the influence of modern technology, the 2025 version sees Rami Malek take the helm of a spy film that didn’t need adjusting.
Charlie Heller (Malek) is a smart, introverted decoder for the CIA. Married to his wife Sarah (Rachel Brosnahan), the socially awkward tech wiz spends most of his time at the CIA headquarters in Langley. After staying in contact with an anonymous source online in secret, he happens upon information that leaves him troubled. Very soon after that, his wife takes a trip to London and is killed in a terrorist attack. When his supervisors are alerted to the tragedy and fail to take action, Heller takes matters into his own hands, blackmailing the directors into giving him what he wants: agent training to take matters into his own hands.
Henderson (Laurence Fishburne) is tasked with training Charlie by the very men he blackmailed, specifically Director Moore (Holt McCallany). With Charlie no longer in the office, suspicions are raised by Director O’Brien (Julianne Nicholson), whose inquiries were never taken seriously by Moore and were constantly blown off. Realizing Charlie wasn’t meant for the field, Henderson gave him unfavorable odds of achieving his goal: exacting revenge.
Things started off promising. The build-up of Malek’s character, a little background on him and his wife and how they lived, and a peek at his top secret occupation. But as the film continued, the story as a whole began to erode into a film that could wait until it’s available on a streaming service.
The film’s pace was inconsistent, going full speed into action and then coming to a full stop far too often. The slow plod through information and thought played heavily against the trailer’s false reflection of an action-packed, intellectual thriller. They essentially used Fishburne for marketing purposes because his presence was insufficient. Charlie’s coworkers, The Bear (Jon Bernthal) and Carlos (Adrian Martinez), had no point of being emphasized whatsoever. It’s an effect I call getting “Game of Thronesed” since the popular HBO series ended abruptly and had a long list of characters who just disappeared without full arcs or details. Not to mention Heller’s anonymous friend, who was smarter and craftier than Heller, ends up getting erased not long after meeting in person.
The things that worked in the film’s favor were the suspense and the fraction of action we get to see. Heller was clearly not a killer. He was uncomfortable with guns and didn’t have a killer’s instinct. Instead, he found creative ways to get to those he tracked. One by one, he found those involved with his wife’s death by identifying the culprits via video surveillance. For example, one woman was trained to kill, but Charlie discovered she had a common vulnerability to allergies. With each person, he paid closer attention to where they were most vulnerable instead of facing them head-on. Whether it was an allergy or a place of solitude, revenge fueled Charlie’s insatiable thirst for justice. The suspense build-up was good and will have audiences looking for clues to guess how Charlie subdues his next opponent.
The Amateur gets a 7 out of 10. We have a small case of the “misleading trailer” here, but the film isn’t a total bust. It’s a great watch on an IMAX screen, so take it in wherever possible. The end-goal of having him look his wife’s killer in the face and “make him feel what she felt” boded well for the conclusion. The PG-13 rating makes it suitable for most, and nothing is pushing the envelope. Colorful language and violence are all you have to worry about here. The film isn’t terrible, but it could’ve been much, much better.
The Amateur premieres in theaters on April 11, 2025.
-Jon Jones
Genre: Action, Thriller
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 2 hrs 3 mins
Trailer: Watch
U.S. Release Date: April 11, 2025 (DC-Area)