KSL Movie Show review: ‘The Amateur’ fails to be an interesting twist on revenge flicks

Editor’s note: This is an editorial piece. An editorial, like a news article, is based on fact but also shares opinions. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and are not associated with our newsroom.

SALT LAKE CITY — Actor Rami Malek thrives on playing the outsider. It’s really all he knows. Growing up in Southern California with Egyptian immigrant parents, he was constantly picked on, so he withdrew into the world of books and study, until he discovered the power of the stage. It was then that he knew he was on to something. 

Look at his career. With his ethnic background, he was called on to play the occasional terrorist, until he’d had enough of that. He became a cybersecurity engineer and a hacker in the “Mr. Robot”
TV series. Then his biggest break came starring as the one-and-only Freddie Mercury in “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

Now he could pick and choose.  

Rami enjoyed playing a Bond villain in 2021’s “No Time to Die,” had a part in Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” and now he plays CIA cryptographer Charlie Heller, who, right out of the gate, loses his wife Sarah (Rachel Brosnahan) in a senseless London terrorist attack.  

Related: KSL Movie Show review: ‘Bob Trevino Likes It’ is gut-wrenching

After some time, yet still boiling with rage, Charlie asks his boss, CIA Deputy Director Alex Moore (Holt McCallany), if the agency will train him, so he can go after the people he knows were responsible for Sarah’s murder.

He’s done all the analysis, knows exactly who to target, he just needs the physical skills to complement his cyber expertise. They tell him to forget it. He’s needed to do what he does best there at Langley and leave the James Bond stuff to them.

Undeterred, he forces their hand, and so they reluctantly send him to Colonel Henderson (Laurence Fishburne), who is supposed to talk him out of this craziness, while also giving him a few pointers to keep him happy.

This leads to one of the dumbest scenes in the movie, as “Hendo” gives Charlie a loaded pistol and tells him to shoot him, the colonel, point-blank in the chest.

“You can’t do it, can you, because you’re not a killer, Charlie!”

Uh, no, he couldn’t do it because you are his mentor and it would be first-degree murder! Just dumb.

More from KSL Movie Show: ‘The Friend’ has wit and wisdom in abundance

Eventually, Charlie goes on his unmerry way, tracks down the bad guys one by one, leading the suits back at CIA headquarters to scratch their heads, “Maybe we underestimated this guy.”

You think?

Oh and a note to the filmmakers here: You shouldn’t put the most clever way to take out a killer in the freaking trailer, thus ruining what would have been the best scene in the movie. The other gripe I have was with Charlie’s nonplussed reaction to putting a helpful colleague in an extremely lethal situation, like “Oh well, sorry I got you dead.”

Gee, who’s the sociopath now, Charles?

Those little annoyances and the way overcooked, I’m-the-smartest-guy-in-the-room finale detracted from what could have been an interesting twist on the tried-and-true revenge flick. As is, I was a bit disappointed, not so much in Rami, but in what they thought he could pull off.

“The Amateur” (B-) Rated PG-13 for some strong violence and language. Starring Rami Malek, Lawrence Fishburne, Holt McCallany, Julianne Nicholson and Rachel Brosnahan. Directed by James Hawes (“One Life” “The Chatterley Affair”) – filmed in Istanbul. Running time: 123 minutes.

The KSL Movie Show with Andy Farnsworth and Steve Salles airs Fridays on KSL NewsRadio from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Follow the show on Facebook, and join The KSL Movie Show Club for exclusive perks by texting MOVIE to 57500. Message and data rates may apply. Text STOP to cancel. Message frequency varies.