I spy a tricky plot in town
Atomic Blonde (15)
Move over Bond and Bourne, there’s a new butt-kicking spy in town – and she’s out for blood.
Charlize Theron stars as undercover MI6 agent Lorraine Broughton, who is sent to Berlin at the height of the Cold War to recover a missing list of double agents.
Based on graphic novel series The Coldest City, the plot is more intricate than the actionheavy promos hinted at, as Kurt Johnstad’s (the 300 movies) screenplay is packed with claims and counter-claims and double crosses.
In truth there’s probably too much story as the film drags at times, particularly during the middle third, and not all of the reveals are surprising or satisfying.
Fortunately, no matter what you might think of the plot and its machinations, Atomic Blonde is blessed with a memorable leading lady.
From the moment we first see Lorraine – coming out of an ice bath battered and bruised and dropping one of the cubes into a glass of vodka – it’s clear this is no run-of-the-mill action heroine.
Whether uttering brilliant lines like “If I’d known he was going to call the police, I’d have worn a different outfit”, or using her high heels as a deadly weapon, Theron throws herself head-on into the role and clocks up more physicality and destruction than most of her male genre counterparts.
If the revenge-themed story and creative action seem reminiscent of John Wick then that’s because the co-director of that hit 2014 flick – David Leitch – is behind the camera here, branching out on his own for the first time and leaving Chad Stahelski to helm Wicks 2 and 3.
Like his previous movie, former stunt coordinator Leitch has a whale of a time coming up with ways to crunch bones and leave people laying.
His action set-pieces peak with a stunning sequence that sees Lorraine take out half a dozen goons in a lengthy single-take shot with no musical score that smoothly segues from a four-storey building to on-the-road mayhem before ending up in a river.
The director also seems to enjoy utilising the late-eighties setting with pulpy visuals, including spray-painted title cards, and a terrific soundtrack of the era.
A fittingly chilly-looking desaturated colour palette features heavily – right down to gets set to break some bones in Berlin Lorraine’s monochrome fashion sense – but Leitch throws in the odd burst of neon lighting.
The supporting cast can’t help but fall into Theron’s shadow, though, with James McAvoy’s scruffy, chain-smoking skinhead showing some roguish charm but feeling sidelined, and Sofia Boutella (Delphine) coming across as little more than eye candy.
Following on from Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman, Theron delivers another action heroine breaking down walls and going toe-to-toe with the best of them that we want to see more of.
It’s just a pity she’s hindered by uneven plotting and one twist too many.