Can a CIA cryptographer turn into a cold-blooded assassin to avenge his wife?

Entertainment · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In the 2025 thriller The Amateur, a grieving CIA analyst blackmails his own agency into training him for a lethal mission. While he excels at bomb-making, he faces a moral dilemma: is he truly capable of killing the people who destroyed his life, or is he out of his depth?

The Amateur, directed by James Hawes and starring Rami Malek, follows Charlie Heller, a CIA cryptographer who discovers his boss, Alex Moore, has been disguising politically motivated drone strikes as terrorist attacks. After his wife, Sarah, is killed in a real attack, Charlie leverages his knowledge of these illicit operations to force the agency to train him at 'The Farm.' His goal is to hunt down the four individuals responsible for Sarah's death.

The film explores the tension between professional espionage and personal vendetta. Despite his training under Colonel Robert Henderson, Charlie struggles with the reality of taking a life. His journey takes him across Europe, from Paris to Istanbul and Madrid, as he tracks his targets. Unlike traditional action heroes, Charlie relies on technical ingenuity, such as hacking and improvised explosives, to corner his enemies, often attempting to force them into states of fear rather than immediate execution.

Critics have offered mixed assessments of the film. While some, like David Ehrlich of IndieWire, praised its 'aggressively competent' nature, others, such as Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com, criticized the plot as 'utter nonsense' and felt the characterization lacked depth. Despite these polarized reviews, the film found a significant audience, generating 310 million minutes of streaming time in its peak week and grossing $96 million worldwide.

The production history reflects a long road to the screen, with development beginning as early as 2006. The final film, which also features Rachel Brosnahan and Laurence Fishburne, was impacted by the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, which caused a production hiatus. Ultimately, the film serves as a modern adaptation of Robert Littell’s 1981 novel, attempting to revive the style of the classic, disposable airport spy thriller for a contemporary audience.

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