The first official solo debut feature from David Leitch, a former stunt man best-known for co-directing the Keanu Reeves' vehicle John Wick (albeit uncredited), Atomic Blonde certainly brings the action, and then some. But is it all surface and little substance? Let's take a closer look.
Charlize Theron- at peak hotness, looking fabulous even when near-beaten to a pulp (only in Hollywood could such a thing be glamorized)- plays an undercover MI-6 agent, Lorraine Broughton, sent to late 80's Berlin, just before the fall of the infamous wall, to try and track down a list of double agents that has been stolen just as it was about to be delivered to MI-6 by another agent, who we see killed at the beginning of the movie.
Unbeknownst to her employers, Lorraine was having an affair with said agent, so it's not just work- it's personal. Allegedly "helping" is fellow MI-6 agent David Percival (James McAvoy, hot off of Split and still accordingly beefed up), who may have gone rogue- and might even already have the list (or a healthy lead on who does), planning to sell it and go on the run.
In addition, there's Spyglass (Eddie Marsan, Ray Donovan), a Stasi officer looking to defect, who has the list memorized, and is willing to trade it for help getting out of Berlin, along with his family. Short of finding the list herself, in the meantime, Lorraine opts to help Spyglass get out of the country, which is easier said than done.
She does so with the help of her team, including Gordan (Bill Skarsgård, aka "Pennywise" from IT), another German contact, who helps oversee Berlin's spy network; sexy French lesbian and fellow undercover agent Delphine (Sofia Boutella, not-so-hot off of The Mummy, but hot nonetheless) and Percival, among others.
But can Lorraine trust anyone concerned? Hell, can she be trusted? MI-6 certainly isn't sure, any more than CIA senior agent Emmett Kurzfeld (John Goodman), brought in to investigate the fall-out from the operation, along with Lorraine's boss, Eric Gray (Toby Jones, The Hunger Games). All we know for sure is that Lorraine survived- but at what cost? And did she get a hold of the list in the end, in one way or another?
You can probably figure out the answer to that, and TBH, there's not a whole lot of surprises in this film overall, aside from one remarkable stunt sequence presented to look like one continuous shot, involving Lorraine confronting a group she thinks is trying to kill Spyglass, as she engages in a shoot-out, hand-to-hand combat and a subsequent car chase with them over the course of a good fifteen-minute series of breathtaking action scenes. That sequence alone is almost worth the price of admission- almost.
Truth be told, this is basically the kind of film Angelina Jolie might have made back when she was still fun- think Mr. And Mrs. Smith- or really, an even-lesser flick like Salt, which interestingly, also features McAvoy. This probably is better than the latter, but not as much fun as the former, overall, but I will say that Theron is never less than compelling- or sexy.
The film does look great, thanks to ultra-stylish cinematography by Jonathan Sela, who also shot John Wick. The 80's vibe is strong with this one, thanks to a non-stop soundtrack of hits, including German faves like Nena, Peter Schilling and Falco (by way of After the Fire, at least), alongside the likes of such appropriately angular tracks by David Bowie, Queen, The Clash, New Order, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Depeche Mode, Re-Flex and A Flock of Seagulls. (Alas, no Gary Numan, who would have been perfect.)
Oddly, it also features a few covers, though Marilyn Manson's version of Ministry's "Stigmata" was so similar to the original, I thought it WAS the original, so I'm not sure why they bothered with that one. Though I did enjoy the music overall, as well as the solid score by Tyler Bates (who also did- you guessed it- the John Wick flicks), just once I'd love to hear an 80's-era soundtrack that didn't feature the obvious choices and went for something a little more left-of-center. There are great deep-cut album tracks by known bands out there, you know?
But I suppose that's par for the course for a film that feels like it was made from recycled parts from previous, better movies. A little Craig-era Bond here, a little La Femme Nikita there, some old-school rock music video vibes throughout, add some Salt, and pepper in some pseudo-gratuitous lesbian sex (not that I was complaining about that, mind you- Theron and Boutella are hot enough to melt chrome) and lots of heavily-choreographed stunt action, and voila! You have Atomic Blonde in a nutshell.
I mean, don't get me wrong: it's nothing if not watchable, especially if you like this sort of thing, and that action sequence I mentioned is mighty impressive, but still... kinda meh overall. Director Leitch isn't without talent, to be sure, and I'd love to see what might happen if he got a hold of more worthy material, but this isn't anything you haven't seen plenty of before, I'm afraid. Better luck next time.
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