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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An intelligent movie with suspense and a true underdog, May 23, 2000
This review is from: Amateur [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Though this movie is now nearly 20 years old, it is still extremely watchable. It does not rely on special effects. It, rather, relies on the development of Hitchcock-like suspense. In the movie, the magazine reporter fiance of a CIA computer specialist is executed by terrorists via random drawing while she is on assignment in europe. This infuriates the main protagonist of the movie -- the CIA employee. He collects enough information on CIA sensitive activities to blackmail the agency into allowing him to go into eastern europe so he can locate and eliminate the terrorists that killed his fiance himself. He is the amateur in a professional's game. The plot is believable, the suspense is tangeable, and the story line not predictable. I promise that if you like suspense movies, you will love this one! The acting, from main and supporting characters, is good. I particularly enjoyed the character who played the father of the murdered fiance. CIA officers and execs also play their roles (though perhaps a bit stereotyped) quite well. 5 stars.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Flawed but engrossing thriller, January 28, 2005
This review is from: Amateur [VHS] (VHS Tape)
John Savage plays Charles Heller ,a cryptographer in the employ of the CIA ,whose girlfriend is killed by Munich based terrorists .He demands that his employers exact retribution on the low lives responsible .They refuse and in retaliation he threatens to expose the Agency's covert activities unless they train him to carry out his own vengeance . He gets his way and travels to Czechoslavakia where they have their base .It is there that his problems really start to mount up-the Czechs are not too thrilled by his presence and the Agency renage on the deal and send their own hit squad to take him out . The premise of the movie is good and the support cast is excellent .The production values are well up to standard and the action scenes are well mounted and credible The locations are attractive too ,with Vienna standing in for Prague . I was not too impresssed by Savage in the title role -he is a skilled actor but not charismatic enough to carry a movie as the action lead ,and the script fails to build on the "fish out of water "scenario as much as I would have liked It still remains a very watchable movie however and you could do a lot worse than try to uncover this neglected 80's picture
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Finally on DVD, July 9, 2005
I saw this movie many years ago and have been waiting for it to come to DVD. This story is especially relevant today, as the country hears more and more about terrorist cells within our midst. It was interesting to see how an everyday Joe trains (Hollywood style) to become an assassin and to follow the action as he avenges his sweetheart's death.
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