The Amateur movie review has been one of the most searched topics since Rami Malek traded his keyboard for a killing spree — and the audience-vs-critics divide on this one is wild.
Malek plays an unassuming but extremely intelligent CIA cryptographer who sets out to avenge his wife after she is killed in a London terrorist attack.
It’s brainy, it’s brutal, and it proved everyone wrong at the box office.
We watched it, we tracked every data point, and we have a lot to say.
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📌 Quick Facts — Key Takeaways
- Release Date: April 11, 2025
- Director: James Hawes (Black Mirror, Slow Horses)
- Runtime: 2 hr 2 min | Rated PG-13
- Worldwide Box Office: $40.8 million in the United States and Canada, and $55.2 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $96 million
- Budget: Produced on a reported budget of $60 million
- Rotten Tomatoes: An excellent 88% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, despite a middling 60% critics’ score
- OTT Streaming: Now streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+
What Is The Amateur About?
Let us set the stage without spoiling the ride.
Charlie Heller (Rami Malek) is a brilliant, but deeply introverted decoder for the CIA working out of a basement office at headquarters in Langley whose life is turned upside down when his wife is killed in a London terrorist attack.
When his supervisors refuse to take action, he takes matters into his own hands, embarking on a dangerous trek across the globe to track down those responsible, his intelligence serving as the ultimate weapon for eluding his pursuers and achieving his revenge.
Based on author Robert Littell’s 1981 novel of the same name, the amateur movie review this adaptation from director James Hawes has more in common with an espionage thriller than a straight-up action movie.
Think less John Wick, more Jason Bourne — but nerdier.
If you are a fan of smart, character-driven spy stories, this one deserves your attention, and we’ll tell you exactly why.
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Star Cast & Roles — Full Breakdown
The spy thriller boasts an impressive cast, which features Academy Award winner Rami Malek, as well as Rachel Brosnahan, Laurence Fishburne, Caitríona Balfe, Jon Bernthal, Michael Stuhlbarg, Holt McCallany, Julianne Nicholson, Adrian Martinez, and Danny Sapani.
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Rami Malek | Charlie Heller (CIA Decoder / Protagonist) |
| Rachel Brosnahan | Sarah Heller (Charlie’s Wife) |
| Laurence Fishburne | Colonel Henderson (CIA Trainer) |
| Caitríona Balfe | Inquiline (CIA Informant) |
| Holt McCallany | Director Frank Moore (CIA Deputy Director) |
| Jon Bernthal | Supporting Role (Extended Cameo) |
| Michael Stuhlbarg | Supporting Role |
| Julianne Nicholson | Supporting Role |
| Adrian Martinez | Supporting Role |
The Amateur marks Malek’s first starring role since 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody, for which he won a Best Actor Oscar.
For fans tracking Oscar-winning performers in action roles,the amateur movie review you might also want to explore our latest reviews of Hollywood thrillers releasing this month.
Does Rami Malek Deliver? Our Honest Performance Breakdown
This is where the Amateur movie review gets truly interesting.
The Amateur may seem like a familiar revenge tale, but it’s elevated by excellent performances and the idea of someone who isn’t ex-military going after the people who killed his wife is an interesting one.
We noticed that Malek brings something genuinely fresh to the revenge thriller genre.
Our protagonist Charlie Heller isn’t some badass superspy who is invincible; instead, he is a computer nerd.
That’s what makes it work — and occasionally what makes it stumble.
Being the genius puzzle solver he is, Charlie utilizes surveillance cameras and advanced technology to identify the four terrorists.
Charlie discovers his Director, Alex Moore, to be a rogue agent, and blackmails him to give him special CIA training. Trained by Col.
Robert Henderson, Charlie soon realizes he would never be able to kill someone at gunpoint. Instead, he decides to use his knowledge to his advantage.
Laurence Fishburne also shines as Henderson, the man charged with training Charlie to prepare him for his mission of revenge.
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However, not every performance gets the same room to breathe.
There is nothing special about the cast, considering that Lawrence Fishburne has minimal screentime, Caitriona Balfe doesn’t have much to do, the amateur movie review except helping out Malek marginally, and everyone else, including Rachel Brosnahan, just fade into the background.
If you enjoy performances from stacked ensembles, we recently covered a stellar web series with an incredible supporting cast that nails what this film sometimes misses.
Box Office Performance — Did The Amateur Make Money?
Here’s the data, and it tells a fascinating story.
| Metric | Numbers |
|---|---|
| Opening Weekend (Domestic) | 18$15 million |
| Domestic Total | 11$40.8 million |
| International Total | 11$55.2 million |
| Worldwide Total | 11$96 million |
| Production Budget | 13$60 million |
| Break-Even Needed | 13Around $120 million worldwide |
While all the attention in recent weeks was going to A Minecraft Movie and Sinners, The Amateur quietly climbed up the box office charts.
The Amateur became among the five highest-grossing Hollywood films of the year.
The Amateur proves that thrillers aimed at older men — think the audience that tunes in to Reacher and Bosch — shouldn’t be restricted to streaming.
And its streaming performance was equally impressive.
Nielsen Media Research reported that the amateur movie review ur generated 310 million minutes of watch time between July 14–20, ranking as the most-streamed film that week.
For detailed day-by-day box office breakdowns of all the latest Hollywood and Bollywood releases, check out our box office tracking section.
What Critics Are Really Saying
The critics-versus-audience gap on The Amateur is one of the widest we’ve tracked this year.
The Amateur holds a borderline “fresh” 61% approval rating on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, but audiences seem to be digging it.
Roger Ebert’s website was particularly brutal.
“The Amateur” was described as skimming “the surface of what has worked in spy thrillers of the past, never finding its own rhythm, identity, or personality.”
One critic noted that “the lack of personality forces the viewer to consider the plot, which is a load of utter nonsense.”
But audience reviews paint a completely different picture.
Multiple viewers praised the angle of the tech nerd, calling it “uniquely interesting instead of the typical assassin killer type,” with good pacing and intriguing events that show CIA capabilities.
User reviews noted that “a good script and solid performances elevate ‘The Amateur’ above so many other vengeance movies” and called it “a believable and thoroughly entertaining action thriller.”
4 Reasons to Watch The Amateur
- A Fresh Take on the Revenge Genre: The concept of someone who isn’t a weapons expert taking revenge is something fresh and makes what could have been a generic movie into a riveting one.
- Rami Malek Is Perfectly Cast: The contradiction of this weedy antihero who had to step up to the plate to right a great wrong was really quite inspirational, and at times deeply moving in the character’s grief and desperation.
- The Pacing Keeps You Hooked: For the first 30 minutes there isn’t much in the way of action, but The Amateur is never boring as it’s setting up Charlie’s plan for revenge.
- Globe-Trotting Cinematography: The locations (namely London, Marseille, and Istanbul) are well shot and well incorporated into the story.
What Went Wrong — The Film’s Biggest Weaknesses
- The second half gets bogged down in its efforts to get from one point to the next. While Malek’s performance remains steady, he gets caught in the slow-turning gears of the plot. The character development mostly stalls as the story ushers him from country to country.
- The color grading choices didn’t always work in its favor. the amateur movie review Many scenes were overly dark, making it difficult to follow what was happening.
- Two hours did not leave enough time for proper character development. For example, the lead speaks about his great friend played by Laurence Fishburne, but we never really saw how the two developed that bond as there are barely 2-3 scenes with them together throughout the movie.
- The movie was let down in the last 10 minutes when there was a ridiculous scenario that was beyond incredulous.
If you’re in the mood for spy thrillers that got the pacing right, our team has put together a curated list of top-rated espionage web series streaming right now.
When and Where to Watch The Amateur on OTT?
This is the question many of you are probably landing here for — so let’s give you the direct answer.
The Amateur, starring Rami Malek and Laurence Fishburne, began streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ on July 17.
The 20th Century Studios spy thriller was released in theaters in April.
You can currently watch “The Amateur” streaming on Disney Plus and Hulu.
It is also possible to buy it on Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, and Fandango At Home as a download or rent it online.
The movie was released earlier on digital platforms including Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.
It was also released on physical media, including 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray, on July 8th, 2025.
For Indian audiences, Disney+ Hotstar is the likely destination — keep an eye on our OTT release calendar for the confirmed India date.
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Final Verdict — Is The Amateur Worth Your Time?
Here’s our honest, no-filter take.
The Amateur is a textbook case of a film that sounds generic on paper but works because of the intelligence of its central concept and the earnestness of its lead performance.
It’s not going to redefine the spy genre.
It won’t make you forget Jason Bourne or James Bond.
But it will give you a genuinely entertaining two hours — especially if you appreciate brains over brawn.
Our Rating: 3/5 ⭐
If you are facing some downtime and need some mid-level entertainment, then The Amateur is for you; otherwise, you aren’t missing anything spectacular or amazing.
We’d say stream it on Hulu or Disney+ with zero expectations, and you’ll walk away pleasantly surprised.
Unlike many clichéd movies, this does not develop into a romance, which we found refreshing and more realistic.
That alone earns it bonus points in our book.
For more honest reviews like this Amateur movie review and the latest entertainment updates, keep checking our updated movie reviews section on Movierulzmn — we break down every major release, every week.
