Title: ATOMIC BLONDE
Director: David Leitch
Starring: Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, Sofia Boutella, John Goodman
Atomic Blonde on Digital Download 2nd December, Blu-ray™ and DVD on 11th December.
Charlize Theron stars as a lethal MI6 assassin named Lorraine Broughton - could she have a more mundane name? That might give you a clue to how exciting this movie is.
Broughton is sent on a mission into Berlin in the midst of the Cold War.She must use all of the spy-craft, sensuality and savagery to stay alive in the ticking time bomb of a city simmering with revolution and double-crossing hives of traitors. She must navigate her way through a deadly game of spies to recover a priceless dossier while fighting ferocious killers
Theron is joined by James McAvoy (Split, X-Men: First Class), Sofia Boutella (The Mummy, Star Trek Beyond) and John Goodman (Transformers: The Last Knight, Patriots Day).
What a fantastic cast to put together for a rather dreary, directionless spy thriller, that fails to thrill. Super spy Broughton frequently travels across the world, or at least from London to Russia and back whilst dispatching bad guys and counter spies. But Oscar winning talents are not required for, all be it well choreographed, bone crunching fights, or listless scenes of interrogations, nor are James McAvoy’s actorly talents - head shaven to fit in with the Russian locals doing his Professor Xavier English accent rather than using his own Scottish accent. Sofia Boutella injects some interest but falls short of her performances in Star Trek or The Mummy. John Goodman does what he does best - but little more.
I will admit to not being a fan of spy thrillers - they feel unbelievable to me and so far fetched, detached from real life that I find them difficult to follow or become engaged by. I’ve never been a fan of James Bond or even to any great degree the Bourne films although at least with those films Matt Damon added something special.
The direction by David Leitch is adequate but the storyline meanders more than would be expected for a spy film with what you might expect would be a well-worn path to follow. But there seem to be very few emotional stakes to care about making the film rather pointless and less gripping than the writer clearly intended it to be.
The fight scenes as mentioned are impressive and inventive but this flashiness doesn’t make up for a lack of narrative intrigue. I imagine that this film might spawn sequels but I think Theron would be better to spend her time on any Mad Max sequels instead. As for Leitch I’m happy for him to keep focusing on any future Atomic films because I’m certain that I don’t trust him to direct Deadpool 2, - although as he’s been named as director I guess it’s too late for me to object.
ATOMIC BLONDE IS AVAILABLE ON DIGITAL DOWNLOAD ON 2ND DECEMBER, BLU-RAY™ AND DVD FROM 11TH DECEMBER, COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL PICTURES (UK).
