Spy thrillers never have been out of vogue and generally rely on action stars to drive the usual scenarios in this well-worn genre, but The Amateur is an effective twist on the formula by plucking a rather nondescript CIA analyst and letting him turn the tables on the bad guys using his own smarts and non-physical skills.
It really becomes Jason Bourne for nerds and as such stands right up there with Bourne as one of the more exciting spy thrillers in many years — at least one that is different and emotional with a nice human touch to it. The fun of it all, in addition to the obvious international globetrotting to the likes of London, Paris, Marseilles and Istanbul, is watching Rami Malek‘s Charlie Heller pull off the impossible against formidable terrorists in clever ways no one sees coming.
Charlie is a happily married and devoted CIA analyst, enraptured by his data and cyber skills at his desk at Langley. Early on we see he has a great relationship with his wife Sarah (Rachel Brosnahan in an underwritten role), who is heading to London for a climate change conference. Tragedy strikes when terrorists invade the hotel where the event is being held and she is taken hostage and later brutally murdered.
This sends Charlie down a rabbit hole of indescribable grief. When his bosses (Holt McCallany heads the Special Activities Center or SAC) don’t share the same sense of urgency to track down his wife’s killers, he takes it upon himself as the ultimate amateur at this spy game, first engaging with retired Colonel Henderson (Laurence Fishburne), who is in charge of training the CIA field agents. Surprisingly, Henderson finds that Charlie does have some natural ability and instincts, but he has to drill it into him.
Other characters quickly come into the picture including Inquiline (Caitriona Balfe), a hacker who serves as a key online partner for his needs and later becomes an important part of his quest in person, as well as a kind of moral compass who has her own mysterious past and loss that helps her bond with Charlie. There also is a rather sketchy guy named The Bear (Jon Bernthal), who owes Charlie for his help during one very trying time in his time at the agency.
As the layers of this terrorist incident come unwrapped, it is clear there will be no stopping this guy on his payback mission. That includes going after the key player behind the attack on Sarah, a shady man named Horst Schiller (Michael Stuhlbarg in a change-of-pace villain role) who has KGB connections. Or so it seems.
Malek’s dry and underplayed style here makes us root for a bereft man who clearly is being unestimated as he uses his head more than his hands to wreak vengeance, all while lost in his grief. Balfe is excellent here, as is the ensemble director James Hawes has brought together including the always-welcome presence of Julianne Nicholson playing the CIA director, and Adrian Martinez (Severance) as Carlos, a good friend and tech operative for Charlie at the CIA, also has some screen time. There also is Caleb (Danny Sapani), head of the Nuclear Proliferation Unit and close colleague of McCallany’s Director Moore, who joins him in trying the thwart Charlie’s increasingly rogue operation. “I don’t think you could beat a 90-year-old nun in an arm-wrestling contest,” one of them tells him early on after he announces he is going after his wife’s killers.
Production values are top-notch, with a shout-out to the special effects team for a spectacular set piece involving a pool collapse in Berlin that serves as the highlight of the action sequences. The screenplay by Ken Nolan and Gary Spinelli tries its best to avoid the clichés of the overworked spy genre and manages to help create a worthy character for Malek to run with — maybe not as fast as Jason Bourne but no less memorable.
Producers of the 20th Century Pictures production are Hutch Parker, Dan Wilson, Joel B. Michaels and Malek.
Title: The Amateur
Distributor: Walt Disney Studios
Release Date: April 11, 2025
Director: James Hawes
Screenwriters: Ken Nolan and Gary Spinelli
Cast: Rami Malek, Rachel Brosnahan, Caitriona Balfe, Jon Bernthal, Michael Stuhlbarg, Holt McCallany, Julianne Nicholson, Adrian Martinez, Danny Sapani, Laurence Fishburne
Rating: PG-13
Running time: 2 hrs, 3 min
