Atomic Blonde (2017)

Director: David Leitch

Starring: Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, John Goodman

An undercover MI6 agent is sent to Berlin during the Cold War to investigate the murder of a fellow agent and recover a missing list of double agents.

First-time director David Leitch is a very versatile man –  being an actor, stuntman, writer, producer and stunt coordinator. He combined his experience in these fields to bring us an unforgettable spy thriller. Charlize Theron was excellent as a spy on a mission to find a list of double agents. I enjoyed this spy thriller being set in 1989, before all the modern technology and mobile phones. It was a different approach to the modern spy thrillers out there at the moment.

I would have preferred a different narrative, though, as the films takes us backwards and forwards in time with Charlize’s character, Lorraine Broughton, telling the story in an interrogation room. This approach was similar to ‘Life of Pi’ for instance, and removed a great number of suspense in the process, as we now knew nothing was going to happen to our protagonist. It would have been more effective in a straight forward storytelling narrative. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the film’s pacing and the action scenes were incredible. The premise was a bit complex, hence the film deserves more than just one viewing to fully understand how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together. I can’t help but wonder why the Lesbian scene was added to the film, as it wasn’t relevant to the characters or the story and might be a bit inappropriate for this type of film.

The film felt very much like a female version of James Bond, with a bit of ‘John Wick’ thrown in the mix. Just like John Wick, the fighting scenes become more brutal and intense as the film progressed. Although it was rather violent, it was exceptionally well done. The entire cast was very good, as well.

‘Atomic Blonde’ won awards for Best Actress, Best Summer Blockbuster, Best Sound Editing, Best Stunts.