The Amateur

I read the original novel this movie is based on before watching the movie, and I really enjoyed it. My hopes were up for this movie because the writer of the novel was also one of the screenwriters. Unfortunately, I felt kind of let down at the end.

The movie has some good attributes. For a Canadian movie, most of the production values are pretty good. There are also some tense and effective moments, the highlight being the swimming pool sequence. Also, Christopher Plummer gives an effective performance in his supporting role.

But as I said in my summary line, the movie doesn't work overall. The main problem with this movie is its pacing. You have to wait until the 50 minute mark before the hero gets into Czechoslovakia and starts his plan of revenge. After that point, you have to wait a long time before he scratches the first person off his target list. I was not demanding an unbelievably fast pace, but things definitely could have been tightened a bit.

Other faults in the movie include the photography (the colors look muddy for the most part), and that the idea of the movie - someone taking on a task that's clearly over his head - didn't come across.

This is far from the worst movie ever made, but it's still disappointing. As of this date, they are working on a remake of this movie. While I usually think remakes are unnecessary, in this case I think there's definitely room for improvement. However, since European politics have changed radically since this movie was made, they'll have to make some big changes for a 21 century audience.