THE AMATEUR (2025)

The more I thought about it, the more I thought this movie didn't really know what it wanted to be. "CIA agent goes rogue because of personal vendetta" sets up a pretty good paranoid thriller, one that promises to even get a little thinky, especially given that the premise is, like, "this guy is not a cold-blooded killer but rather a flinchy tech nerd."

But it sort of wants to have its cake and eat it too: it still wants to be an action-packed vengeance film, with stuff that blows up and spectacular setpieces like the exploding high-rise pool you see in the trailer. I saw the film in the hopes that it could walk that tightrope—an action film that maintains its nerd cred could work for me—but the film doesn't have faith in the brainy stuff, so it gets handwaved away, which makes the action-y outcomes feel unearned and hollow. Malek's performance isn't bad, but the overall arc of his coming to terms with his grief feels a bit draped over the film to give off the impression of seriousness, and you kind of feel like things might have improved if the film shook off its gravity and gave itself more opportunities to cut loose. You have Lawrence Fishburne on hand, after all—he's at his best when it seems like he's having fun.