----------
SPOILERS!
----------
PROS
1) I swear Rami Malek can do anything and do it well! His CIA nerd was a guy you could root for because the odds are so stacked against him. This is the American remake of Canada's The Amateur from 1981, so you know the good guy was going to win. But the question is how.
2) I loved the MacGyver-esque quality of Malek's character Charlie Heller. He quickly learns he can't shoot anyone in cold blood, but he jury-rigs traps for his opponents that they could get out of if they stop and think instead of panicking.
3) Laurence Fishbourne is also someone who can perform any role he puts his mind to. As Henderson, Charlie's CIA trainer, his brutal assessment as to Charlie's lack of fighting skills spurs Charlie to use his brains for vengence.
4) The secondary plot is the battle of wits between CIA Director O'Brien and her Deputy Director Moore with both of them using Charlie as a pawn in their headgames. This one was much more intense and personal than the political battles in the Jason Bourne series.
5) Personally, I think the dissing of this movie is based on Charlie breaking down and sobbing at home over his wife Sarah's death. Again, I loved that Charlie wasn't a typical strong, silent, unemotional hero.
CONS
1) Jon Bernthal was criminally underused as Charlie's CIA oreative friend codenamed Bear. It would have made more sense for him to be the one Moore sends to stop Charlie rather than Henderson.
2) The fridging of chicks in movies to spur the hero into action is really pissing me off. The same vengence motivation could have been used if Sarah had been kidnapped instead. And I would have accepted Sarah's death a little better is the writers hadn't whacked Charlie's Russian contact Inquiline for being a woman.
Overall I loved The Amateur! I give 10 out of 10 stars for clever traps and not wallowing in the typical spy-movie crap.
No comments:
Post a Comment