The Amateur

As a CIA analyst moves from targeting terrorists from behind a computer screen to confronting them in real life, it’s clear that the title character in The Amateur is smarter than the movie.

This visually striking but narratively familiar thriller from British director James Hawes (One Life) chronicles an ordinary guy who becomes obsessed with seeking vigilante justice while immersed in high-tech sociopolitical intrigue.

While the personal stakes in his rogue mission help drive the tension beyond the usual sociopolitical turmoil and bureaucratic malfeasance, the film severely strains credibility while transitioning into a ridiculous cat-and-mouse saga in the second half.

From the moment mild-mannered Charlie (Rami Malek) says goodbye to his wife, Sarah (Rachel Brosnahan) over morning coffee before she heads to London for a conference, you know it’s likely going to be the last they see of one another.

Indeed, after he reports to Langley for his daily data decryption duties, he finds out that Sarah was taken hostage and killed in a terror attack. As he examines surveillance footage to identify the perpetrators, Charlie is surprised when his boss (Holt McCallany) advises him to stand down. “I don’t want you to kill them,” Charlie explains. “I want to kill them myself.”

That leads to a blackmail scheme enabling the timid Charlie to attend military-style field training under the auspices of a retired officer (Laurence Fishburne) who might have been given alternate orders.

Uncertain who he can trust, including his own moral compass, Charlie eventually makes his way overseas, where he connects with a top-secret source (Catriona Balfe) under desperate circumstances. As he navigates a conspiratorial puzzle filled with exotic locales, shadowy figures, shifting loyalties, and cloudy motives, can he conjure a killer instinct to match his rage?

The screenplay by Ken Nolan (Black Hawk Down) and Gary Spinelli (American Made), adapted from a 1981 novel by Robert Littell, offers a fairly generic setup for a globetrotting espionage adventure.

Malek, still developing his leading-man potential after winning an Oscar for Bohemian Rhapsody, brings sympathy and conviction to an enigmatic hero with nothing to lose. However, most of the periphery characters are cookie-cutter stereotypes.

By the final act, the film becomes so convoluted and illogical that it diminishes our emotional investment in Charlie’s attempt to find closure. As it ramps up the intensity, The Amateur squanders its intelligence.

Rated PG-13, 123 minutes.