Hulu just added a new action thriller with a ton of star power, and according to audience reviews, you'll definitely want to watch it.
"The Amateur" stars Rami Malek as CIA cryptographer Charlie Heller, whose life is turned upside down when his wife is killed in a terrorist attack. It was supposed to be the big blockbuster of the spring, but it fell a bit flat at the box office, only pulling in $96 million and garnering poor reviews from dozens of critics.
But audiences loved the film, giving it an impressive 88% "fresh" rating on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars., suggesting that maybe some critics took the movie a bit too seriously, even if it isn't exactly redefining the action thriller genre.
So who is right? Critics or audiences? Here's what you need to know about "The Amateur" and why it needs to be the next movie on your watchlist.
What is ‘The Amateur’ about?
As I already mentioned, "The Amateur" stars Academy Award winner Rami Malek as CIA cryptographer Charlie Heller. Despite working for the agency, he's essentially a mild-mannered guy working a desk job, who has managed to befriend a field agent, Jackson O'Brien, code name "The Bear" (Jon Bernthal), and an anonymous source, code name "Inquiline."
Those relationships have allowed him to get dirt on his boss (Holt McCallany) and when Charlie's wife (Rachel Brosnahan) is killed in a terrorist attack, Charlie uses that blackmail to get permission to hunt down the men who killed his wife.
But before he can go out into the field, he has to be trained at "The Farm" by Colonel Robert Henderson (Laurence Fishburne). Henderson deems that, while Charlie excels at certain tasks, like bomb-making, he is simply not capable of killing. That assessment is put to the test quickly, though, as once Charlie is out in the field, his boss orders Henderson to eliminate the grieving widower.
'The Amateur' is a poor man's 'Bourne' movie — and that's okay
When I say that "The Amateur" has been done before, I'm being literal. The action thriller is based on the 1981 novel of the same name by Robert Littell and was adapted into a film that same year.
But that's OK. Not every film has to be groundbreaking or even original.
That doesn't seem to be something many of the critics grasped when reviewing this film, at least when it comes to the bad reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Words such as "lackluster," "underwhelming" and "servicable at best" are tossed about like candy on Halloween.
Honestly, the positive reviews often use similarly "meh" language.
"The Amateur delivers solid spy thrills with sharp 4K and Atmos presentation, but it's not a film you'll likely revisit more than once, declared Alison Rose in their review for Flick Direct.
"There's no artistic pretence to 'The Amateur,' which hasn't so much been directed as assembled," said Adam Neyman in his review for the Toronto Star. "It’s not so different than other movies, after all, and that’s OK."
Audiences seem to agree that it's OK too. In fact, it's more than fine. "Fantastic. Highly recommended. Love Rami in this roll [SIC]. Must see," declared one user. "This was SO much better than the critics [SIC] score of 66. Smart, fun, with great performances. I want a sequel!" said another.
In short, "The Amateur" might be more of a poor man's "Bourne" movie than "Jason Bourne goes geek," as the audience consensus on Rotten Tomatoes boldly claims. But a poor man's "Bourne" movie is still an action thriller worth watching, and I know I'll be watching it the next time I boot up Hulu.
Malcolm has been with Tom's Guide since 2022, and has been covering the latest in streaming shows and movies since 2023. He's not one to shy away from a hot take, including that "John Wick" is one of the four greatest films ever made.
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