Atomic Blonde Review

Atomic Blonde Review

Starring: Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, John Goodman

Director: David Leitch

Release date: 9th August 2017

 

The year is 1989 and things are extremely tense on the East/ West German border. The Berlin Wall is still very much in place and police patrol it constantly. A man is brutally murdered and his body thrown into the river. Skip forward 10 days and we are now in an interogation room. An MI6 operative called Lorraine Broughton (Charlize Theron) is being de-briefed by her boss, Eric Gray (Toby Jones) and a CIA agent called, Emmett Kurzfeld (John Goodman). She recounts her story.. she has to travel to London to Berlin to get the body of her friend, James Gasciogne (Sam Hargrave) , the man who was murdered. It turns out that he is/was in possession of ‘a list’, a document that names all the undercover double agents and the list is missing. Lorraine is told to meet a contact in Berlin called David Percival (James McAvoy). She arrives at the airport and is picked up by two strangers, saying that they are friends of David’s. She soon twigs that they are nothing of the sort and she tries to make her escape. The car crashes and David appears on the scene. She goes with him and he fills her in on the happenings in Berlin. He’s a bit of a Jack the Lad.. there’s something about him that Lorraine doesn’t trust. Can she find the list before it’s too late, and is David all that he seems to be?

Atomic Blonde 3

‘Atomic Blonde’ is based on the graphic novel, ‘The Coldest City’ by Anthony Johnson and Sam Hart, and it was released in 2012. The movie’s director, David Leitch is relatively new to the game, having previously co-directed the 2014 cult hit, John Wick. He’s done a lot of work as a stuntman in the past and you can see how that might factor into Atomic Blonde and the way it has ended up/ played out.

Okay, so I’ll be as honest as I can when talking about Atomic Blonde.. It comes across as being ‘a bit blokey’.. Lorraine spends a lot of time wearing very little in the way of clothing. There’s also the scene which basically looks like a porno, between her and a girl she meets. There’s also the absolutely graphic violence and killing throughout the movie. If you’re not expecting it, it’s fairly shocking in places. I guess it’s a bit like the whole ‘Sin City’ thing, and the fact that it’s based on a graphic novel.. lots of very visual violence.

As movies go, I did really enjoy ‘Atomic Blonde’. Wasn’t at all what I expected, but I guess what is these days? The Soundtrack is really fantastic, with the opening beats of New Order’s Blue Monday starting the movie with vigour and energy. A tiny bit like the recent movie, ‘Baby Driver’, the movie is very musically driven with an array of classic hits from the 80’s; Bowie, New Order and George Michael’s ‘Father Figure’ even gets a look in. It’s quite a dark movie, which sets the tone for the whole story. Lorraine gets a serious continuous kicking throughout the movie, and I don’t know how as a human being, she survives most of it. Never really nice seeing a woman being attcked by a man/ loads of men and you’d half expect her to end up in hospital at some point in the film.

Atomic Blonde 4

Lots of twists and turns, some extreme fighting sequences and an amazing soundtrack makes this a movie that you should give a chance. Also an amazing cast. including the wonderful Toby Jones and Eddie Marsan. Charlize Theron is perfect in the role of an MI6 agent on a mission.

Go see it, but be prepared for the graphic violence aspect. Don’t say I didn’t warn you..

 

Overall: 8/10

 

 

Save

Share now!

Related Posts

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Follow Us

Scroll to Top