There comes a time when the bare minimum should be considered completely unacceptable. James Hawes’ latest film, “The Amateur,” released in theaters nationwide on April 11, might just be the start of that timeline.
It has the familiar look of a standard action film, with bleak hues and shadowy interiors. Paired with that, however, is a story with as much succulence as a rice cake. It’s a predictable plot that borrows heavily from two of the most groundbreaking action franchises of the 21st century — “Jason Bourne” and “John Wick.”
These are two tentpole action blockbusters whose unique styles have gradually seeped into the mainstream. Yet while it’s easy enough to imagine Matt Damon or Keanu Reeves trotting the globe instead of Freddie Mercury, “The Amateur” has only one uniquely intriguing aspect— a brain-over-brawn approach. Despite being marketed as an action flick, the film only has a couple of fight scenes. The rest of its runtime consists of tech wizardry and meticulously orchestrated “Saw”-esque scenarios that, for better or worse, serve as the film’s only source of excitement.
The film follows Charlie Heller (Rami Malek), a highly intelligent CIA cryptographer, as he laments the passing of his wife, Sarah (Rachel Brosnahan), who was killed in a terrorist attack while abroad in London. Gradually, Heller realizes that his boss — the overly secretive CIA Deputy Director Alex Moore (Holt McCallany) — has no interest in holding the perpetrators of Sarah’s murder accountable. His crippling grief, coupled with the uncovering of a startling internal conspiracy involving Moore, causes Heller to take matters into his own hands.
Unfortunately, his mission is easier said than done. The only thing the CIA hates more than disclosing their involvement in the assassination of JFK is being blackmailed — especially by an unassuming Joe Blow within its organization. While investigating how this infohazard got leaked, Moore assigns Col. Robert “Hendo” Henderson (Laurence Fishburne) to kill Heller under the guise of a training accident. Despite his best efforts, Heller learns of this ploy and flees the country, leading Henderson on a global manhunt that propels the remainder of the film.
The film sounds engaging enough written out — and for a second, it is. That is, until the moment Heller picks up a gun and it devolves into a series of bland set pieces and recycled tropes. The film’s cliches are only outweighed by its aversion to any form of risk. For instance, there’s a good 40 minutes of the film where Heller cosplays as your average hooded hacker and types some coded jargon that somehow grants him access to the exact information he needs in that moment. If it sounds predictably stupid, that’s because it is.
This issue persists throughout the film and creates a paradox of sorts. For as bleak and reliant on logistics as the film is, it barely possesses any sense of realism. While it’s not bad to embrace silliness, there’s a glaring clash between the film’s grounded representation of our corrupted government and the wacky scenarios Heller gets himself into. It’s the kind of picture that needs to commit to a single tone in order to work — which never happens. The end result is an action film that severely lacks in action while being too over-the-top to stand out as a thriller.
Similar to Hawes’ previous work, “One Life,” there’s also a lingering sense that the film is on autopilot for much of its runtime. Hawes never once controls the flight himself, instead relying on the acting and screenplay to mold his creation into something watchable. This filmmaking philosophy prioritizes consistency at the cost of being quite unremarkable. However, it somewhat works in “One Life” as that film has a stellar lead performance from Anthony Hopkins and a poignant story at its core.
Though with “The Amateur,” there’s nothing that elevates it above your standard Walmart bargain bin film. Everything from the cinematography, direction, editing, performances and screenplay is mediocre. The film only begins crumbling once it starts embracing the absurdity of the action masterpieces that precede it. Because while Jason Bourne and John Wick are cinematic icons, Charlie Heller doesn’t possess the charisma needed for us to look past how laughable some of his antics are — antics that are neither clever nor memorable in the end.
Jacob Bernardino is an Arts & Entertainment Intern for the spring 2025 quarter. He can be reached at bernarj2@uci.edu.
Edited by Alaina Retodo and Jaheem Conley