Atomic Blonde Review

2.5 Stars

 

Undercover MI6 Agent Lorraine Broughton (Charlize Theron) is described as an expert in intelligence collection and hand-to-hand combat.  In Atomic Blonde, Broughton is sent on a mission to Berlin on the eve of the collapse of the Berlin Wall to take down a ruthless espionage ring that is responsible for killing her boyfriend and fellow MI6 undercover agent.  He was killed for an important document referred to as "the list" that contains compromising information about undercover agents and missions.  There, she is forced to team up with embedded station chief David Percival (James McAvoy) who is not always on the same page as far as information sharing.  Once in Berlin, the mission quickly expands from just finding "the list" to also revealing and eliminating the double agent crossing the KGB, the Royal Crown and the United States.  

Atomic Blonde is the full length feature film realization of the graphic novel titled The Coldest City.  Written in 2012 by Antony Johnston and Sam Hart, The Coldest City chronicles the adventures of a spy sent to find a list of double-agents being smuggled into the West.

An early review described Theron as "bigger and bolder than Bourne".  Many have compared her character to the first real female James Bond. I found a couple problems with those comparisons.  First, the action scenes and driving sequences in the Bourne movies were believable and flawless in their execution.  While Theron was more than able to pull off the realistic and graphic fighting scenes, the driving scenes were enhanced by a computer in post production.  And you can tell.

Second, Broughton, like the 007 Agent to which she is compared, has a love interest in the movie.  Bond is known for being quite the ladies' man with not-so-subtle innuendos and a PG to PG-13 scene of intimacy before getting back to the action and gadgets.  Broughton engages with a female French agent named Sandrine (Sofia Boutella).  This affair was not in the 2012 graphic novel, but the writers of Atomic Blonde felt it would set their spy movie apart from other ones and it would be an unexpected twist.  Their affair was graphic, intense and gratuitous.   While the Bond scene of love is titillatingly playful, the scenes in Atomic Blonde hinted at by the preview leave s little to the imagination and something that I feel works against solidifying Broughton as a viable contender to be in the same class as a Bourne or Bond character.  Though I can excuse the affair itself as being a means to and end (information gathering), it still could have been done with a PG to PG-13 ambiance about it.

All the things that are wrong about Atomic Blonde are showcased in the first 5 minutes of the film.  The MI6 Agent is killed by the KGB in an unrealistic computer enhanced car hit, the first line of the movie drops an F-bomb (the first of many), and the next scene is Broughton naked in a tub and around the bathroom.  I supposed the point of that was to show a bruised and broken Broughton; but, again, that could have done without the nudity.

Atomic Blonde looked interesting and I agree we are overdue for a female version of a Bond or Bourne, but I do think they could have done so with more attention to the plot and the action and less on the nudity and sex that didn't make the movie any better.  I went in with low expectations giving a timid 2 Star Prediction.  I will say this, as the movie progresses, it does get better for me.  The fighting scenes (and you can tell Theron is actually doing most of her own work) are quite realistic.  The story is not unique.  It's a spy movie, so the one you think is the traitor isn't, and even when you think you figured out the twist, there's another one.  It's entertaining, but not innovative or new.  Because of the fight scenes alone, I'm bumping this up to 2.5 Stars.  Still disappointing, especially when it could have been a solid 4 to 4.5 stars had it not been for the car chases with computers, the nudity and sex, and the foul language that just wasn't necessary to put Atomic Blonde in the same league with Bourne or Bond.  I think this is one to wait for on cable, but might be worth renting, but not spending the big bucks to watch in theatres.  So, what movie will be on my mind next?  We shall see.