Blonde atomique

There is a scene about two-thirds into Atomic Blonde that will likely go down in cinema history as one of the most exhilarating displays of visual trickery and good-ol' fashioned stunt work that the action genre has ever offered. Charlize Theron's MI6 spook enters an apartment building in pre-Wall collapse Berlin with a wounded informant and battles gun-toting thugs up and down stairs, in and out of various rooms, using fists, knives, a crowbar, and just about anything else she can lay her hands on. It's a kinetic, utterly dazzling set-piece that eventually takes the violence outside and into a moving car, all in one long, mind-bogglingly complex take. It comes as no surprise that David Leitch, an uncredited director behind 2014's sleeper hit John Wick, is the man calling the shots.

This spectacular moment justifies whatever entry fee you paid to see Atomic Blonde, and highlights just what can be achieved with action cinema when a director like Leitch is the puppet-master behind it. Yet it also underlines the lack of heart and intrigue contained within the rest of this tale of double-agents and double-crosses whenever Theron's Lorraine Broughton isn't kicking butt. She is sent to a Berlin bristling with tension and distrust after MI6 agent James Gascoigne (Sam Hargrave) is murdered by KGB agent Yuri Bakhtin (Johannes Haukur Johannesson) and a wristwatch containing a microfilm list of intelligence agents is stolen. Her task is to find the list, assassinate a double agent known as Satchel, and rendezvous with David Percival (James McAvoy), a fellow agent who has recently 'gone feral'. Matters are complicated when Lorraine falls for young French agent Delphine (Sofia Boutella), and Stasi informant Spyglass (Eddie Marsan) reveals that he has memorised the contents of the microfilm.

Based on Antony Johnston and Sam Hart's graphic novel The Coldest City and re-titled Atomic Blonde to suit the 80's setting, the film looks slick, colourful and chocked full of period detail. While the grey streets of Berlin are laced with ice and stalked by shadowy double agents, the interiors show the German capital in 1989 as a catwalk for the newest fashions and a platform for great music. Theron dons a variety of outfits to suit whatever role she is playing in her mission, naturally looking great in the process, and will likely make many teenagers' dreams come true in her steamy scenes with Boutella. It's all very superficial, with very few characters succeeding to engage on an emotional level. Spyglass, a man trying to save his family from falling into the hands of the Russians and using every tool at his disposal to do so, is the most interesting character in the film. Marsan is always a delight to watch, and it's a shame he doesn't feature more than he does.

Although she certainly looks terrific, Lorraine doesn't really seem to do all that much. Her approach is to enter a room looking fabulous, receive information from the dodgiest-looking person in there, and proceed to dispatch anybody foolish enough to confront her. She's a wafer-thin protagonist, but Theron brings a great physicality to the role, and the actress is now the most accomplished action star working today. As Percival, McAvoy continues to impress with his ability to juggle the good guy, bad guy act. He did so to great effect in Trance and Split, and here he injects a Tyler Durden-esque fashion sense and swagger to his punk- rock rogue agent who may be Lorraine's largest obstacle. Ultimately, Atomic Blonde is a handsome, exciting action movie with fantastic physical performances all round and a central set-piece that will leave you as breathless as its participants. Anyone hoping for a deeper exploration of the shady world it so wonderfully sets up will leave frustratingly underwhelmed.

The director who previously helmed John Wick does a good job of creating Eye popping visuals and guiding Charlize Theron (who put a lot of effort into the stunts) through her kickass character but unlike John Wick,this movie suffers from a lackluster script and halfway through I found myself not caring about the characters and the plot

'Atomic Blonde' is one of those movies that I can watch over and over again and it just doesn't lose its impact. When I saw the movie for the first time I had no expectations and I was more than convinced. Since then it is one of my favorite movies and that although it is certainly not a masterpiece.

In the intro, you already get a foretaste of the direction the movie is going to take, which is then consistently followed through. The movie doesn't lose its pace over the entire runtime. There is no real hole.

The entire atmosphere feels incredibly authentic. The whole thing is underpinned by a really stylish, cool and coherent soundtrack, which strongly underpins the images shown.

The only point of criticism is the plot. It seems a bit confused and essentially serves to explain why a character gets from A to B. The story isn't really complicated, but you still think to yourself at some points, just accept it and don't question it.

But you can turn a blind eye to that, because the actual plot is in the background for me here. The overall look and feel paired with the really strong fight choreography let you quickly overlook it.

And that brings us to the crucial point. The movie has incredibly strong fight scenes. The camera is close up throughout and all the fights look handmade. That's what I want to see and not cut-up action where you can't see anything or which is just bristling with GCI. Some action movies can take a leaf out of this book. Showing and not hinting is the motto here. One of the best scenes of the whole movie is a several minutes long plan sequence in a house. I find this impressive every time. In these moments, the movie reminds me of a reduced, well dosed John Wick, only the setting and the framework story appeals more to me personally.

All in all, 'Atomic Blonde' is a solid agent thriller, which can more than convince with its atmosphere, look and fight scenes. In terms of plot, familiar structures, motifs and sequences are used. If you can overlook that, then you can really have fun with the movie.

Atomic Blonde is the story of a British secret agent (Theron) who gets sent to East Germany around the time of the Berlin Wall removal. Her task - find the list of British agents that is apparently for sale and will endanger all of Britain's undercover agents.

The storyline is a bit hard to follow, purposely, which is the biggest negative. You are unsure who is a good guy or bad guy or something in between, or both, or neither. The mystery is supposed to build intrigue but it also builds confusion too.

It is clear that the Russians are the bad guys. James McAvoy delivers a great portrayal of the British agent on site who has the most info of anyone about the truth. But can he be trusted? Americans are involved, as well as the French. John Goodman also delivers as the CIA head, with Sofia Boutella (Star Trek Beyond) playing a sexy junior French agent.

The acting is outstanding. McAvoy seems crazy. Goodman is secretive. Theron is inspecting and questioning everything as she tries to discover the truth.

There is terrific use of colors and David Bowie music. The highlights are the fighting scenes that show just how tough Theron really is. Watch the Extra Features to learn all the training she put in to get in shape to kick butt. There is one long fight scene that spills into the stairway that will blow your mind.

The ending is a pretty good twist, which you may or may not suspect, since there is such big confusion about agents' loyalties. The director also leaves open the door for a sequel which I believe Theron has signed on for.

If you like a sexy, strong, somewhat violent spy movie, Atomic Blonde will blow you away. Enjoy!

I love Charlize, but I'm getting a little tired of James, as he seems to be everywhere lately. This movie looked great, and I love the era, especially with the background story of the Berlin wall, but I just didn't care about the characters much, nor the story. The action was fantastic though, and I wish there were more of it. Perhaps a laugh or too occasionally would have helped as well.