The Amateur

From a compelling opening with all the sensational detachment of photojournalism - the random execution of a woman hostage by international terrorists - this turns into a lumbering vehicle for woolly idealism, trite moralising, and gung-ho action as the dead woman's boyfriend (a computer technologist) blackmails his CIA employers into helping avenge the murder. Stock characterisation and dreadful dialogue scarcely aid credibility. (From the novel by Robert Littell.