Atomic Blonde is a spy movie about an undercover MI6 agent in Berlin during the Cold War to look into the murder of a fellow agent and get back a missing list of double agents. It is wrtten by Kurt Jognstad (screenplay) and based on Anthony Johnston’s graphic novel “The Coldest City”. The movie is directed by David Leitch. Atomic Blonde (2017) movie review
One of the first things that many other reviews mention is the amazing performance by the movie’s star Charlize Theron. She plays Lorraine Broughton as well as her costar James McAvoy playing David Percival. Lorraine is brutal, cunning, tough, and overall strong spy who has a calculated way of doing things. She brings no emotions into it. She keeps getting up even though she constantly gets beaten up and betrayed. Lorraine truly is in line to stand up to Bourne and Bond movies.
David is also quirky and has found a good way to not only survive but to get things he needs. Hard task in a world where you can’t trust anybody as well as being followed by spies. He has a good energy and a great back and forth with Lorraine.
Another aspect of this movie that sets it apart from others is the action. It is brutal, raw, and not cut to pieces. The camera follows Lorraine around as she finds unique and interesting ways to kill those who are after her. She is relentless in her pursuit for the truth and she becomes an unstoppable killing machine. Also, every injury she gets takes a big toll on her to show that she is not unstoppable. She is smart but also human.
Couple this with a gritty looking feel of her surroundings and you have a truly unique character who we are rooting for.
This was a passion project for Theron. During her training she was trained by multiple people to a point of puking just about every day. Besides the various bruises she sustained during her training, she also cracked her teeth and had it surgically fixed. It shows the length she was willing to go to make a gritty character come to life. While that is not anything new in the acting world, it is also not the first time she has done it.
In 2003’s movie “Monster” she put on a lot of weight, wore tons of makeup, and underwent a huge emotional change that brought her to a brink of mental breakdown. Of course, this led her to her Golden Globe and Academy award, but the journey was far from being easy. The point is that Theron is capable of pushing herself to an extreme if she truly believes in the movie she is trying to bring to life.
Overall a fun movie. From some great action scenes to the acting as well as choreography, everything worked well to bring a grungy looking era to life. There are also some great songs that work well with the era as well as what is happening that pairs well with many cultural/pop references. I’m not saying this is as good or better as other spy movies, but I am saying that it has a great potential to be a fantastic female driven series. Sequel is in development.
Thanks for reading my Atomic Blonde (2017) movie review
