Make Way for ‘Badass’ Theron

By Avik Basak

Hollywood has always taken pleasure in making spy movies with women as their central figures. What makes Atomic Blonde different is the fact that it relies more on the thrills of its storytelling rather than the high-octane action sequences. Make no mistake, there are action sequences in this film and they have been well-executed and well-choreographed as well but the main attraction of this flick is the way it unfolds.

The story of Atomic Blonde is about an MI6 operative (The “Blonde” Theron) who has been tasked to track down a double agent and recover a list of all the active British field agents in the then Soviet Union that went missing. A kind of plot, which we have seen a lot of times before, even Skyfall had a similar storyline but the smartest thing about this movie is the era that it is set in, during the end years of the Cold War, days before the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The setting and the characters are good enough to get the audience hooked, while the amazing cinematography by Jonathan Sela further makes it visually appealing. Director David Leitch tells the story with a lot of style which he deserves praise for but the movie boasts of unnecessary complications and is also redundantly slow in pace that can make you lose interest as you move along.

Charlize Theron is in an amazing form here and once again reminds us how good an actress she has become in the recent years. She not only nails the part but emerges as a total ‘badass’ who is ready to take on anything that comes in her path. James McAvoy too is brilliant and plays his role with a lot of panache. Sofia Boutella, Toby Jones, John Goodman and James Faulkner of Game of Thrones fame also do well in their supporting roles.

Overall, Atomic Blonde is good enough to keep you invested with its multi-layered storyline but it is the “Blonde” in the title that makes the film more than just your average stoppage at the theatre.

3.7 Stars Out of 5 From Me...