Leitch as director and Theron as producer really concocted a nice spy action film with Atomic Blonde. Set around the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall, it traces the attempt of a British agent (oh wait, or is it a CIA agent?) to prevent a list of friendly agents, available only engraved in a watch and in the mind of a German collaborator, to fall into the hands of the Russians. The film is framed by a debriefing, where Theron recounts her tale of sleuthing and mayhem.
The film bears much resemblance to Nikita, Luc Besson's female assassin film of 1990. Not coincidentally, Atomic Blonde is based on a graphic novel, and Besson was also a big fan of adapting graphic novels, as in "The Fifth Element," for example. Both films have a stylized touch, that works given the graphic (in all senses of the word!) theme.
One aspect where Atomic Blonde rises above analogous efforts such as the Bourne series, is that despite all the action, some of the relationships can be worked out a little, like the one with her nemesis double agent, which turns from mistrust to respect to hatred, or the lesbian relationship with a French agent who is in over her head and pays the price. Even the relationship with semi-competent Russian agent Bremovych gets its full arc in the story. There's not much time to do it in an action film like this - what time is spent doing it, is spent well here.
McAvoy's take on the double agent is great, especially once it becomes clear why he would be motivated to make the list disappear - for exactly the opposite reasons the British and Americans would want to keep it out of Russian hands.
The film captures Berlin well (I have a flat there and my parents live there), from its punk-grittiness to the fancy but somewhat clinical looking bar, to the pre-war construction that's left in many parts of the city despite the destruction of WW II.
The film does not have too many plot holes, but Theron's habit of spending 5 minutes dismembering enemy agents while getting seriously hurt herself, before just picking up their gun and shooting them (which she could have done right away) becomes a little forcé.
A fun spy flick that's a cut above similar efforts in sophistication: 7/10.
The film bears much resemblance to Nikita, Luc Besson's female assassin film of 1990. Not coincidentally, Atomic Blonde is based on a graphic novel, and Besson was also a big fan of adapting graphic novels, as in "The Fifth Element," for example. Both films have a stylized touch, that works given the graphic (in all senses of the word!) theme.
One aspect where Atomic Blonde rises above analogous efforts such as the Bourne series, is that despite all the action, some of the relationships can be worked out a little, like the one with her nemesis double agent, which turns from mistrust to respect to hatred, or the lesbian relationship with a French agent who is in over her head and pays the price. Even the relationship with semi-competent Russian agent Bremovych gets its full arc in the story. There's not much time to do it in an action film like this - what time is spent doing it, is spent well here.
McAvoy's take on the double agent is great, especially once it becomes clear why he would be motivated to make the list disappear - for exactly the opposite reasons the British and Americans would want to keep it out of Russian hands.
The film captures Berlin well (I have a flat there and my parents live there), from its punk-grittiness to the fancy but somewhat clinical looking bar, to the pre-war construction that's left in many parts of the city despite the destruction of WW II.
The film does not have too many plot holes, but Theron's habit of spending 5 minutes dismembering enemy agents while getting seriously hurt herself, before just picking up their gun and shooting them (which she could have done right away) becomes a little forcé.
A fun spy flick that's a cut above similar efforts in sophistication: 7/10.