The Amateur

My nephew and I have been eagerly anticipating the release of The Amateur since the first trailer dropped (he actually sent me the trailer and we discussed it endlessly) so we were both absolutely thrilled to go to an early access screening last night.  I am really biased (spy thrillers are one of my favorite genres of both movies and books and I am a huge fan of Rami Malek) but I loved it!  CIA analyst Charlie Heller (Malek) receives information from an anonymous source which implicates his boss, Deputy Director Alex Moore (Holt McCallany), in unsanctioned black ops missions around the globe.  When his wife Sarah (Rachel Brosnahan) is killed in a terror attack in London, he tracks down those responsible but Moore seems hesitant to take action against them.  He decides use the information from his source to blackmail Moore into allowing him to go after the terrorists himself and trains with Robert Henderson (Laurence Fishburne) who determines that Heller doesn't have the killer instinct to be an operative.  However, he uses his own specific skills to chase his wife's killers but it takes the help of his informant (Caitriona Balfe), and another unlikely ally within the CIA (Julianne Nicholson), to stay ahead of Henderson and the other operatives sent by Moore to stop him.  The story is entertaining with lots of twists and turns and I enjoyed the clever methods used by Heller to exact revenge as well as the message about the toll that killing can take on someone whether justified or not.  All of the different locations around the world are fabulous and I like that we actually see Heller using his skills to get from place to place.  This is a role that is very well suited to Malek's strengths as an actor (the character reminded me a lot of Elliot Alderson) and I loved his performance.  My only complaint is that there are some pacing issues.  I started to get a bit restless when there were still two terrorists left to track down (but I did find the resolution to be thrilling).  I had so much fun watching this with my nephew (he loved it, too, and is hoping for a sequel) and I highly recommend it!