First Take: Atomic Blonde- unscheduled, and very much unchained

SYPNOSIS:

An undercover MI6 agent is sent to Berlin during the Cold War to investigate the murder of a fellow agent and recover a missing list of double agents.

I wasn’t meant to be reviewing today, but with the return of hot drinks to the local cinema, I had to see something. Action is one of the most difficult genres to pioneer, as it’s very formulaic and hard to really put a unique stamp on. Luckily Atomic Blonde manages to feel very unique, and it’s not just because of it’s 1980s Cold War setting.

David Leitch has given us a rather tight 1 hour 55 minute film that has as much mystery and intrique tied in with some of the craziest action sequences I’ve seen all year. It’s generally paced well, and with a decent screenplay from Kirk Johnstad, there is a lot of brilliant moments, but not many memorable ones that haven’t been shown in the trailers. It’s shot really well by Jonathan Sela, and it’s really nice to see Tyler Bates scoring more lesser known films than the goliaths of the Marvel films.

Performance wise, this is very much Charlize Theron’s time to shine as Hollywood’s latest action star, and following her work in Fast and Furious 8, this is a genre she fits really well in. Paired with James McAvoy (who is having an incredible 2017 in film), Sofia Boutella, Toby Jones, John Goodman and a stacked supporting cast, the film may not be perfect, but this felt like a breath of fresh air. A word for the wise- this film is rather raunchy, it is a 15 certificate for a reason. 

THE VERDICT

Bold, daring, and full of action scenes that utilise everyday utensils in ways I haven’t seen since that scene in Girl on the Train, Atomic Blonde is one of the more intelligent films to be released this summer. It’s not quite the perfect film, but it is a very solid effort indeed.

Rating: 4/5