While I did not know much about Atomic Blonde before going into the theater, I did have very high hopes for it, given its high praise and spectacular reviews. This film, however, left me a bit disappointed in the overall plot element of it all. The action scenes were amazing nonetheless, but I ended up feeling confusion rather than the satisfied conclusion I prefer.
First off, the good parts of the film: the action sequences and supporting characters. This film has been given praise as the greatest action film of 2017, and I might have to agree with that, solely for the choreography. The action scenes filmed were all done by Charlize Theron herself, which is quite impressive, given the dangerous extent of them all. The fight choreography was very smooth but brutal, and definitely caught my eye and held me in while they happened. I'm always a sucker for one-shot scenes, and towards the end of the film where Theron's character Lorraine took out the group of men on the multiple floors was absolutely astounding. Another aspect that I very much enjoyed were the performances by the supporting actors James McAvoy and Sofia Boutella. McAvoy had a fantastic portrayal as the adversary-turned-enemy, as he turned out to be the rogue spy that was releasing information. His character was so well-rounded that I did not even begin to suspect that he might have been the antagonist. As for Boutella, she gave an amazing performance as Delphine, the French agent who was sent to look for the same information as Theron's character. I feel like Boutella's character had the most development, which I really appreciate in any film. Her character went from naive and innocent to becoming a crucial part and saving the almost nonexistent plot. Her love scene with Theron was also the turning point for her character because only then did she realize what she was really in for. This was good in order to see her role change from eye-candy to motivation for Lorraine.
I feel that it was also a really clever move to choose 1980's Berlin as the setting, given the tensions between East and West Germany and that the Berlin Wall was about to be torn down. It provided a really interesting way to present the story, as they had to be different people on the different sides of the wall. It showed the spies' dexterity and professionalism acting between sides. The main piece of the setting that I loved, however, was the music choice. This period of music gave us some of the greatest alternative and electronic hits of that era, and these songs fueled the aura of the film. Songs like "99 Luftballons" and "Personal Jesus" among many others truly gave it a late-80's edgy feel.
There are some aspects that I would definitely change about this film, however. Firstly, while Theron's character was a stoic, badass, Bond-type protagonist, there was definitely room for development. Even a little bit might have convinced me. No information about her background was given, and her stale and flat ego remained constant throughout the movie. Which makes for an excellent expendable spy I suppose, but I would prefer to hear more of her story and connection to the plot. Which there also happened to be almost none of: a coherent plot. Towards the beginning of the film, it seemed like the purpose was for Lorraine to retrieve the list from the rogue agent. As the story progressed, however, it seemed less and less like there was a reason for her actions or the introduction of the other elements. Towards the end, I started to feel the reason for the plot but it was definitely too late to introduce anything worthy of saving it. And the twist at the end revealing that Lorraine was the American FBI agent the entire time threw me for an even more confusing loop. So overall, the plot seemed messy and unorganized, which turned me off quite a bit.
I would strongly recommend Atomic Blonde for the die-hard Bond fans who are looking for a possible female to fill the role. While Charlize Theron excellently portrayed her character with what she was given, the movie just seemed to be lacking a concise plot, which is what a good film needs. I would definitely suggest viewing this film, but watch it for the fun, sexy action rather than the story.
My Rating: ★★½
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