Top Cast
After his life is turned upside down when his wife is killed in a London terrorist attack, a brilliant but introverted CIA decoder takes matters into his own hands when his supervisors refuse to take action.
Critic Consensus
Critical reception for The Amateur is largely negative, with reviewers finding it a watchable but ultimately hollow spy thriller. The film's pacing and slick direction from James Hawes receive limited acknowledgment, but critics broadly converge on Rami Malek's miscasting as the central problem, arguing he lacks the charisma needed to anchor an action film. Several critics also note the screenplay's overcrowded, derivative plotting, with the revenge narrative feeling thin and the twists unearned.
3 rated reviews · 1 positive · 2 negative
AI-generated summary of 5 critic reviews · may contain errors
Report inaccuracyCritic Reviews (5)
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“In this film that has so much stuffed into a basic tale of revenge that it can barely give time to anything, everything is almost as wispy as vapour, not the smoke-and-mirrors look director James Hawes is going for.”Read full review ↗
“Slow Horses director James Hawes's espionage yarn is pacy and slick but badly miscast, with Malek feeling too wan and underpowered in the charisma department to be carrying an action flick.”Read full review ↗
“The truth is that we don’t notice things like that in the name of entertainment. We ride with Jason Bourne and James Bond because they’re charismatic enough to force us to do so. That is just not the case here, leaving us to question every inane twist and turn. And wonder why no one can turn on a light.”Read full review ↗
“Rami Malek is a mad-as-hell secret-agent geek brainiac in a watchable but frictionless revenge film that pours a lot of other movies into the blender.”Read full review ↗
“This decent spy thriller stars the erstwhile Mr. Robot as a CIA cryptographer who doesn't need a gun to avenge his murdered wife.”Read full review ↗
Cast & Crew
Cast
- Rami Malek · Heller
- Holt McCallany · Director Moore
- Danny Sapani · Caleb
- Rachel Brosnahan · Sarah
- Michael Stuhlbarg · Schiller
- Laurence Fishburne · Henderson
- Julianne Nicholson · Director O'Brien
- Caitríona Balfe · Inquiline
- Jon Bernthal · The Bear
- Adrian Martinez · Carlos
- Evan Milton · Slater
- Nick Mills · Finn
- Tiffany Gray · Esther
- Kate Sumpter · Channel 6 Anchor
- David Mills · NBNC Anchor
Director
Screenplay
Details
- Release Date
- 9 April 2025
- Runtime
- 2h 3m
- Language
- English
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