The Amateur

Just Got out of a Screening of The Amateur.

It was Half Decent but there's a better film in here(especially the setup)

Problems I had with the Film -

📜👎 - The Setup of Charles' Wife being Killed was done in probably the least effective way possible. She dies, he's then told this and then we see bits and pieces of the Kidnapping. This was a cop out imo.

🤔 - It would of Been Far more effective if we actually saw a 6 to 7 minute scene of the Kings Cross London Terrorist Attack and the Subsequent Execution(without actually showing it though, just up to the moment when he pulls the trigger, they did that part right) of Charles' Wife. And then he is told & shown this.

😴 - There's far too many moments where stuff Just happens.

🤷 - The Ending with the Main Villain(which was actually a good Scene) could of been built up to far better if we had seen the villain throughout the film. But we don't, we only seen him at the Very End.

So Overall, it was ok but could of been far better.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the cinema watching The Amateur. It should have been a short series maybe 4-6 Episodes as opposed to a feature film. I think 2 hours did not leave enough time for proper character development. For example the lead speaks about his great friend played by Lawerence Fisburn in a scene at the end of the film. We never really saw how the two developed that bond as there are barely 2-3 scenes with them together throughout the movie. It was fun though and I feel more so because I watched it at the Theatre. Will definitely give it a rewatch once I can on my couch and recommend anyone who just wants to kick back to give it a watch.

Mission impossible/James bond esque elements so it's nothing we haven't seen before but it's still very much worth watching, we were thoroughly entertained for the just over 2 hours. I'd give it a 7.5.

I like the angle they went with the tech nerd it made it uniquely interesting instead of the typical assassin killer type. The pacing was good, the events unfolding were logical and also intriguing by showing the CIA capabilities of surveillance and information, the music was awesome along with the cinematics. The acting was pretty standard, nothing to ride home about but some of these reviews are pretty harsh for no good reason.

All in all it's a good movie and worth a theater experience, or just wait till it's on streaming I'll be a great movie for a night in.

7.25/10 STARS - Saw this was based on a book and now I'm interested to listen to the audiobook (narrated by Scott Brick, who is a fantastic narrator). The movie itself was pretty good, and I enjoyed it. There were some issues here and there with conveniences when it came to his ability to get things done and some moments where suspension of disbelieve was required. Perhaps this was partly because it felt like there was a lot omitted along the way, not clearly showing us how he was able to accomplish what he did. Maybe some more scenes showing him having to figure out how to get to where he needed to be in order to sabotage something would have been good (like in the swimming pool scene). But since this movie was already more than two hours long, I suppose it might be a bit much to show us everything. I liked that we got a good feel for the main characters intense grief over the loss of his wife and his determination to make everyone pay - yet totally out of his element when it came to the brutality of face-to-face killing. Video review will be available on my YouTube channel shortly.

The Amateur

I really enjoyed this movie, it was a thriller of sorts, with a nerdy CIA analyst, played by Remi Malik, who was a kind of espionage savant deciphering complex data and keeping all our lives safe from the baddies.

The contradiction of this weedy antihero who had to step up to the plate to right a great wrong, was really quite inspirational. On paper this may have looked crazy casting but it was at times deeply moving in the characters grief and desperation. Expertly acted and great to see!

The script was tight and there were some great action sequences and the balance between the action and narrative was just right.

The movie was let down in the last 10 minutes when we just had a ridiculous scenario that ready was beyond incredulous! This was such a shame!

The whole cast turned it out but at best this is a firm 7 outta 10, if they contrived a better ending this would have been an 8.5, it is well worth watching for Malik alone.