The first time I saw Rami Malek on a screen was in 2021 when I watched the 25th installment of the James Bond series, Cary Joji Fukunaga’s “No Time To Die.” It was my first Bond movie, and although I hated Bond himself, I was intrigued by Malek’s portrayal of Lyutsifer Safin. 

So when I saw the trailer for James Hawke’s “The Amateur,” I was immediately interested. The film follows Charlie Heller (Rami Malek), an employee for the CIA whose life is upended by the murder of his wife in a terrorist attack. Enraged by the lack of action by his superiors, Heller decides to take matters into his own hands in order to track down those responsible for his wife’s death and avenge her.

Malek has the sort of face that is impossible to look away from. Not because he’s extraordinarily ugly or beautiful — although he is a good-looking man — but something about his face grabs your attention and holds it there. There’s something subtly frightening and intense about his eyes, and I think he brings a sharper, darker edge to any character he plays.

I thought the supporting cast did a nice job as well, with Laurence Fishburne as Henderson and Holt McCallany as Moore standing out. I always appreciate Fishburne in movies, and can rely on him to do his job right. McCallany, whom I’d never seen before “The Amateur,” had a fun and expressive performance as well. 

Story wise, the movie was nothing new. It wasn’t terrible by any means, but felt very much like a plane movie — that is, the sort of easily consumable, inoffensive, emotionally stale movie you watch with cheap earphones on an airplane. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s not going to be winning any awards. 

I’m not the biggest fan of movies like “The Amateur” in general — spy/action/thriller movies with hardly a woman in sight, predictable storylines, and flat characters — but I would still say I enjoyed the movie. It’s by no means a new favorite or even something that I will likely spare a second thought for beyond this review, but it was also an entertaining two hours of my life, and while I wouldn’t leap to recommend it to someone, I think it’s a solid movie that’s worth watching.