In the age of movie remakes, sequels, and movies based on video games and books, it seems everything that comes out of Hollywood has already been done before. Although this may be the case for “The Amateur” starring Rami Malek, as it was based on a book and a previous movie adaptation from 1981, the movie broke stereotypes that Malek has been fighting for years.
Because of this, and because of my love for Malek, I had to collect a few of my friends and make the trek to the nearest Marcus Theatre.
“The Amateur” tells the story of a CIA decoder, Charlie Heller — played by Rami Malek — whose wife is killed in a terrorist attack in London. After this, Heller vows to take revenge on those responsible for his wife’s death. On this journey, he falls into a conspiracy similar to the Pentagon Papers scandal of the ‘70s.
In the past, Malek has talked about the importance of playing a hero rather than the villain of the story, especially because of his heritage. Malek is a first-generation American, and his parents immigrated to the U.S. from Egypt.
His most popular role is Freddie Mercury in “Bohemian Rhapsody,” a standout for him since Malek doesn’t usually play characters who are so exuberant. Rather, his characters, including Charlie Heller, are typically outcasts, often acting introverted and awkward, which Malek tends to play very well.
In an interview with CBS, Malek talked about the danger of playing “the bad guy.” He said he has been offered stereotypical roles for Middle Eastern men, while being overlooked for traditional protagonist parts.
Now, in “The Amateur,” Malek got the chance to play the stereotypical action movie “good guy.” Charlie had a nice job, a nice house, and a nice wife. He kept his head down at work, and his life was fairly normal, aside from working in the U.S. Center for Intelligence in Langley, Virginia.
I had high hopes for this movie. I’m a sucker for a good revenge action movie, especially when it comes to a man avenging his wife. The plot of “The Amateur” reminded me of “American Assassin,” starring Dylan O’Brien, and “John Wick,” starring Keanu Reeves, both movies I love.
However, Malek’s depiction of espionage and revenge strays from the typical spy movie. The main reason is his lack of use of brute force. Charlie’s character depends on his smarts, which I thought was more realistic than a man going from having a 9-5 desk job to killing foreign enemies.
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Another typical action movie trope is a side-plot filled with romance, something “The Amateur” decided to leave out. Although this plot point was written into the book, I think it’s best that it was forgotten. Instead, the woman Charlie was meant to rebound with, a woman who also lost her husband in an attack, became a friend and guided him on his mission.
Changing this helped promote the idea that female characters in movies are good for more than just romance. They can use their intelligence rather than their relationships to further the story.
The movie also had points when the audience didn’t know what was going on, which made the suspense much better and kept me hooked to the end. I thought of several ways the movie could end — none of which were correct.
I had a lot of fun watching this movie, and I loved the way it broke traditional typecasting for Malek. Although this film wasn’t groundbreaking, it has been added to my action movie rotation for movie nights.