Not the worst date night film my wife and I have seen, but far from the best.
The Amateur gets one thing right immediately, and that’s its casting. Rami Malek perfectly fits the bill as an analyst nerd who, and the film makes this very clear, could not hit a barn door with a banjo. Seriously, he’s bloody awful with a gun.
That central idea, of a guy who wants to get revenge but has to figure out his own of doing it, is a cool one. It showed a lot of promise. But when the trailers give you most of the interesting stuff, you can’t help but feel unfulfilled by the film.
Managing to feel long but also weirdly unfinished, the story feels really wonky. As though it couldn’t settle on a tone. Could have done with being shorter too, instead lingering when it should be pushing forward. More set up montages and displays of his particular skills would have been appreciated.
What is essentially a nerdier The Mechanic sets things up decently but doesn’t follow through on what we really want.
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