Spy thriller strikes the right balance
Oscar winner shows she has what it takes for action
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/07/2017 (3305 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
As the Soviet Union began collapsing on itself in 1989, with the fall of the Berlin Wall imminent, MI6 agent Lorraine Broughton (Charlize Theron) arrives in the still-bisected Berlin, which is feverish with the prospect of liberation.
Ostensibly, she’s on the sad mission of collecting a corpse. Another British spy, wearing a watch bearing a microscopic treasure trove of information damaging to British intelligence, has been murdered. Broughton’s real job is to retrieve the information before it lands in enemy hands.
There are two ways you can go with this premise, adapted from the 2012 graphic novel The Coldest City. You can make a grungy, cerebral, slow-burn spy movie along the lines of the excellent 2011 John le Carré adaptation Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (which also happened to feature Toby Jones as an effete MI6 spymaster).
Or you can make a stunt-heavy, kick-ass action movie along the lines of John Wick, which was co-directed by Atomic Blonde helmer David Leitch.
To its credit, Atomic Blonde attempts to go in both directions at the same time, not unsuccessfully. Given that most of its characters lead double lives, a little thematic dualism is not inappropriate.
It helps the movie plays to its strengths, principally Charlize Theron, an Oscar-winner for her work on the movie Monster, who delivered on her action credentials as one-armed warrior Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road. Our first view of Lorraine is of dipping her bruised body into an ice bath. Ice turns out to be the recurring visual motif when it comes to her character. She’s either bathing in it, habitually sipping on Stoli on the rocks, or fixing her freezing gaze of the denizens of Berlin’s espionage demi-monde.
The chief object of Lorraine’s sub-zero gaze is her Berlin point man Percival (James McAvoy), a guy who proves all too willing to introduce East Berlin’s liberated citizens to the indulgent joys of western capitalism. Since the KGB already knows of Lorraine’s mission upon her arrival, it seems likely Percival may have himself blown the whistle on Lorraine’s identity. But as she gets in deeper, other potential enemies reveal themselves including a seductive but panicked French agent (Sofia Boutella), a Stasi agent (Eddie Marsan) with an inconvenient photographic memory, and a crusty CIA chief (John Goodman), who seems to suspect Lorraine herself is not as untainted as her reputation suggests.
David Leitch is not the first director to come from the ranks of stunt performers. But, if John Wick didn’t convince you, Leitch proves he’s not just about the elaborately staged mayhem. He has a good eye for establishing atmosphere, playfully juxatposing the grey brutalist architecture of East Berlin with the neon-smeared corruption of West Berlin to revel in the contrast: City as personality disorder.
But the action is the key draw here, and the movie delivers, especially in one crazed extended-take sequence when Lorraine must take on a building full of KGB assassins.
Action and smarts worked for Theron in Fury Road. With Atomic Blonde, she’s two for two.
randall.king@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @FreepKing
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MOVIE REVIEW
Atomic Blonde
Starring Charlize Theron and James McAvoy
McGillivray, Polo Park, St. Vital, Towne
18A
115 minutes
★★★★ 1/2 stars out of five
Other voices
An absolute blast, with a never-sexier Theron in some of the best action scenes to hit a screen.
— Rafer Guzman, Newsday
Ultimately, Atomic Blonde is, like its heroine, something of a machine.
— Michael O’Sullivan, Washington Post
It’s wonderful when movies surprise us, toppling our expectations with a refreshing blast of creativity. Which is how the insanely violent romp Atomic Blonde struck me.
— Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune
After a brisk, efficient, uber-cool first hour, all New Wave tunes and sexy neon lighting, the second hour drags into dullness.
— Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service
Glowering from beneath the bangs of her moonbeam-platinum bob, Theron’s Broughton is equal parts air, light and iron.
— Stephanie Zacharek, Time
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
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