Atomic Blonde: Review

Atomic Blonde is director David Leitch previous (John Wick), staring Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, Sofia Boutella and John Goodman. Lorraine is MI6's best even if her methods are somewhat hazardous. After she is sent to Berlin right before the collapse of the wall - she must uncover a list of double agents while investigating the murder of a former agent. 

Bi-spy sparks an enthrallingly lead amongst an immensely bland narrative. Atomic Blonde in itself a quirky concept, bright hair, big moves, bad storytelling- Leith struggles to drain any life from the success of John Wick and imagines too few new ideas. Modern action flicks have proved to be as colourfully ascetic as they are creative. Even with the addition of its punk late 80's setting - Atomic Blonde follows a dismally, chaotic, run-of-the-mill job. 

Although it's of the spy genre it doesn't mean the plot has to be a secret as well. What seems to be an intriguing look into the corruption behind the cold war plays out as yet another baffling first hand account that jars between past and present day. The story cuts from a debriefing - in which Goodman incoherently explains the plot to us - and a slightly more energetic look into the mission. It lacks a simple fluidity of a story and crunches both style and substance into one cluttered romp.

Atomic Blonde requires you to dot the dots together, and with such a confusing yet aggravatingly unimaginative story - you are simply not invested enough to care. To its core there is something quite special there - approached in such a round about way - whatever is there was clearly left on the cutting room floor. 

Blonde Bomb Shell Lorraine holds her own against the tired and cumbersome world of espionage Leitch attempts. Theron tugs the weight of this movie almost alone, neither Goodman or Boutella's brief but notable performances standout against Theron. She is the face of this movie and delivers a layered yet original character who does a whole lot more than kick, punch and run.

Along with this there are few but still some moments magnificently drenched in style. The glaring neon juxtaposed against the grey and murky streets of berlin offers a little colour variation, easy on the eye. And if not its story but action elements are extracted from John Wick - offering a prominent one take, ten minute sequence and some of the best choreographed action of the year. 

Atomic Blonde's leading lady tugs the weight of an otherwise humdrum story. Fabulous appearances from its cast can't atone for the unforgivably poorly told story. It brags an all to familiar, if not overused soundtrack and overly intelligent writing for the material - either I'm just stupid or something doesn't add up. 

I am going to give Atomic Blonde:

4.8/10