Movie Title: Atomic Blonde
First Watch / Repeat Viewing
Running Time: 1 hr. and 55 min.
Rated: R
Who did I watch with?: Stephie
Where did I watch it?: Home
Review:
Set against the fall of the Berlin Wall, Atomic Blonde opens with the assassination of a British agent by the Soviets in Berlin. James Gascoine, the assassinated agent, is ferrying a list of spies that came from a Stasi double agent code named Spyglass. Charlize Theron’s, Lorraine Broughton is introduced already battered and bruised setting up the flashback frame narrative that contextualizes the movie. She is being interrogated by a British and an American agent played by Toby Jones and John Goodman respectively as things have clearly gone sideways.
Broughton is then sent to acquire the list under the auspices of recovering Gascoine’s body. To do this, she needs to connect with MI6’s leading man in Berlin, David Percival, played by James McAvoy. Percival has gone native and appears sketchy right from the get go. The spy craft is set against the backdrop of hedonistic night clubs and upscale locales on either side of the wall. It quickly becomes apparent that there is a double agent in their midst going by the code name Satchel. Acquiring the list and ferreting out the spy becomes the round about purpose of the movie.
Atomic Blonde has violent and beautifully shot action sequences in the vein of John Wick. The action is set to a classic 80s soundtrack that hits, mostly, the right notes. Broughton drinks Stoli and kicks ass, spying her way to the top. The problem is despite all of that, the movie is pretty dull for long stretches and has a story riddled with holes. The movie is slow paced and what is supposed to be exciting lacks all gravitas. The movie becomes very predicable and the ending is completely unsatisfying. The motivations for all the characters involved are fuzzy at best. Charlize Theron rocks, but ultimately the movie set around her does not.
Verdict:
Despite some cool action sequences, the story barely strings it all together. The ending leaves much to be desired and so much more could have been done with the frame narrative they used. An implementation of an unreliable narrator could have been interesting. But, it all ends up being way too straight forward. Despite some moments, skip it.
Tomorrow’s Movie: Get Out (2017)
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Today’s Run:
Last night I went to the Patriots game and had a great time. However, today I am paying for it. I was sick part of the week and that came back a little. I am also still hungover and exhausted. My head is pounding and I’m coughing up all kinds of crap. I will run tomorrow.
