At one point in the new trailer for his upcoming movie The Amateur, Rami Malek earnestly delivers the understatement of the year: “It’s the CIA. I’ve got to trust they’ll make the right call.”
Naivete aside, director James Hawes’ spy thriller (coming on April 11, 2025) is actually premised on the organization, which has a history of targeted eliminations and involvement in several coups, not, in fact, making the right call in a particular matter — one that’s extremely personal to Malek’s CIA back-bencher, Charlie Heller. After his wife dies in a terror attack, nerdy Heller feels that he’s left with no choice but to go extract some John Wick-style revenge on those responsible.
Not that he’s exactly field-ready, mind you. Before going rogue, Heller’s particular set of skills are in the realm of surveillance and assorted tech gadgetry.
The official synopsis for The Amateur describes Malek’s character as “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.”
Heller’s wife is played here by The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s Rachel Brosnahan, whose character is already fueling much speculation online (maybe she’ll turn out to be not dead, or maybe it was an inside job). Adapted from Robert Littell’s 1981 novel of the same name, about a quiet cryptographer for the CIA, Heller turns to agency heavy hitters played by Jon Bernthal, Laurence Fishburne, and Holt McCallany in order to try and get himself field-ready.
Naturally, that doesn’t go according to plan. The movie takes off, though, when Heller, as the amateur of the title, quits trying to be an action hero and leans into his Mr. Robot skillset. In this case, revenge is a dish best served with code.
