Atomic Blonde is the female led spy film we always needed. Charlize Theron plays the Icy veined blonde bombshell Lorraine, an MI6 agent tasked with infiltrating Berlin at the height of it's political climate. The wall is coming down, the people are revolting, and the spies are losing it as “The List” (A document with names of all agents across various intelligence agencies) is put into play in a High Octane game of cat and mouse across East and West Berlin.
Blonde is a powerful spy film
There is no other name in espionage more powerful than 007 himself and with a film lineage lasting more than half a century, the people over at EON better take note.
Atomic Blonde delivers a powerful and beautifully shot spy film that keeps you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. Not only is it masterfully acted, and choreographed; but the angles and lighting of the streets of 1989 Berlin are a visual feast.
The sound design not only shines when it's hyping the crowd up with many notable early alternative rock hits, but it is also subtle. At one stage it was hollow and all you could hear was the snap, crackle, and pop; of gunfire and bones/glass breaking, as the actors flew across each set piece.
Girls just wanna have fun
Charlize delivered an evocative performance, as the dry witted and mysterious Lorraine. Her power lies in her very nuanced and very relatable stance on relationships and how to handle them.
She starts out as a badass Jane Doe; and leaves us with a very layered performance unlike I've seen in any other spy film.
Her relationship with doe eyed French agent Delphine played expertly by Sofia Boutella, is one of the many highlights of the film. Starting out as a side story and turning into a major plot line, it provides us with one of the most insightful lines into Lorraine's character.
(Delivered over pillow talk after a hot and wonderfully shot lesbian sex scene)
It takes an organization - or three
The supporting cast is also perfectly cast and layered. As any spy movie will show you, everyone has various intentions and you must navigate those while being treated to a great film as you try and figure who is who and what their intentions may be.
The best spy movies give you just enough puzzle pieces to put it together, but still be surprised by a few of the twists and turns.
The great part about having multiple villains is that it allowed the movie to deliver multiple scenarios without fatiguing the audience. Each one serves as a platform for the next moving piece that brings the film towards its final scene, which has a twist most will not see coming. Atomic Blonde is the must see action film of the summer. I give it 9 out of 10 assassinated double agents.
