‘ATOMIC BLONDE’

R 1:55 ★★ ½ ★

Charlize Theron crashes into the spy genre with gusto in “Atomic Blonde,” fighting to the tune and nuclear theme of Nena’s “Luftballons.”

“John Wick” director David Leitch and Theron (“Mad Max: Fury Road”) propel the film through the dangerous streets of 1989 Berlin, a city on the brink tearing down its dividing wall. The backdrop of a crumbling Soviet Union and the German Reunification gives a compelling setting for the spies who represent Cold War’s power players.

Time is ticking down before the Cold War ends, and a comprehensive list of the United Kingdom’s undercover agents has gone missing. Should the list fall into the wrong hands, namely the Russians, another 40 years of covert aggression and nuclear threats would begin.

Britain’s MI6 — the notable employer of James Bond — sends Agent Lorraine Broughton (Theron) to track down the list. She also is tasked with identifying the double-crossing British agent who tipped off the Russians to the list’s whereabouts.

Theron’s forceful performance validates her status as an action star. Her vicious tenacity carries the film as Lorraine overtakes the worst of the worst from the Russian KGB.

“Atomic Blonde,” based on Anthony Johnston and Sam Hart’s graphic novel “The Coldest City,” takes after the Bond movies in more ways than one but never lives up to the rich traditions of 007.

The film distances itself from Bond’s shadow with a series of twists that reveal surprising truths about the Khaleesi-blonde heroine and her shady undercover comrade David Percival (James McAvoy). An intricate web of friends and enemies leads viewers to question the true motivations of each spy — and each country — involved.

An unexpected conclusion could have been all the more intriguing had the film provided a clear explanation for it.

Each character is a piece in a puzzle, in which it remains unclear what the final picture will be. Once all the pieces come together, the story could have benefited immensely from a step back to show where each part fit in and how it all came to pass.

“Atomic Blonde” leaves lingering questions after its near two-hour run time, many of which should already have been clearly answered. But if audiences are still pondering the movie after leaving the theater, isn’t that a win in and of itself?

Starring: Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, John Goodman, Toby Jones, Sofia Boutella, Eddie Marsan. (Sequences of strong violence, language throughout and some sexuality/nudity)

— Nuria Martinez-Keel,

The Oklahoman