Atomic Blonde

This week we're continuing our look at interesting movies.

Released in 2017 and based on the graphic novel The Coldest City, today's entry is:

Atomic Blonde.

Starring Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, Eddie Marsan, John Goodman, Toby Jones and many more.

Essentially, Atomic Blonde is an espionage, well not thriller exactly. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is an espionage thriller. Atomic Blonde has elements of the thriller, the drama and quite a bit of action, but I don't know that I would really classify it as any of those genres as such.

When you really peel away the layers, Atomic Blonde becomes pretty fascinating.

The fact that it is based on a graphic novel shows, it shines through in every scene, something the director David Leitch seems to have a good eye for. He's mostly worked as a stuntman, in fact he has 82 credits for stunt work on IMDB, but he seems to have switched tack, and with success.

So, I hear you ask, what is the movie about? The end of the cold war is my answer. The scene is set in Berlin 1989. The wall is days away from coming down when Lorraine Broughton is sent to Berlin by her masters in MI6 to retrieve a list of agents on both sides of the cold war.

Once there, she must navigate the treacherous city, dodging enemies from all sides.

The action is amazing. Sure, Lorraine is pretty much a one woman army, but she takes so much damage. This isn't a Steven Seagal movie where one goon may, perhaps, land a blow on him. Lorraine gets her ass beaten hard, but she won't stay down. Loved the action, A+. I assume that the directors stunt experience payed off in spades.

The score is worth noting. If you, like me grew up during the 80's, you're going to recognize a lot of songs, and I at least got a pretty nostalgic trip out of it. Overall the acting is great, I'm in fact hard pressed to find anything really wrong with it. IMDB lists it's usual array of minor errors like how the Porsche McAvoy drives is a nineties model, or how the trendy nightclubs in West Berlin at the time would never have played a six year old song, but who cares? I don't.

As I was watching I was struck by how pretty this film is, and how simplistic the writing was. The phrase “Style over Substance” came to mind, and it's apt. But in this case it's not a bad thing, not even close. It is a very elegant film, with scene after scene, shot after shot framed like a painting in a comic book. It really worked. And besides, the script is smarter than you'd think, that's all I'm saying. I refuse to spoil anything.

This isn't James Bond. It's not Jason Bourne. Atomic Blonde is it's own thing, and yes it's not going down in cinema history as a great classic, but I loved this film, and if you're in the mood for some cool action, smooth scenes and great atmosphere, then watch this film!

That's that. Until we meet again, have a great week!