Atomic Blonde

Ever since Mad Max: Fury Road I have been a huge fan of Charlize Theron. I have not seen Monster yet, but just a glimpse of her transformation visually in that movie proved that she has amazing talent. Atomic Blonde was neither of those two movies, but it was still very entertaining; Charlize Theron won every frame she was on, and the camera loved her. The cinematography, editing, and music choice was breathtaking, and those three things were just the icing on the cake for this action-packed, spy movie. David Leitch, the Director of this movie as well as John Wick, was a stuntman that became a director, and it shows throughout the movie through the focus of fight-choreography, car chases, destructible sets, and a lack of story or character.

The characters were very vibrant and loud, but none of them changed. The first half of the movie, to me, seemed to slow down to a crawl because Charlize Theron and James McAvoy began to sit around saying, “We have to wait for the Russians to make a move,” which completely took away all stress for time. Once the rising action finally began to rise it did so tremendously and deserved applause for the execution and intensity, but until then the characters were wading around trying to find a watch. Charlize Theron constantly found herself in clubs and shops talking to secret agents, and they always said “Come back tomorrow… check it out tomorrow… maybe I’ll see you later… Berlin’s a small town, maybe our paths will cross once more.” Just get to the action already, stop delaying it!

Overall the action scenes were very well done and the music ensemble was electric. All fans of Charlize Theron should go see this movie; she was powerful. Any fans of John Wick or action movies in general should see this movie and will have a good time, but if you are looking for deep characters and emotion, there are plenty of other films better suited for you.

Story Rating: 6/10

Character Rating: 5/10