Atomic Blonde (***1/2)

I saw ATOMIC BLONDE more out of boredom than anything. The plot seemed thin, the only appeal being that of a female spy kicking lots of ass. Charlize Theron, one of the great actresses working today, has clearly done better work. Where did this movie set itself apart? I was more than happy to leave the theater invigorated by the action, thrilled by the look, and wowed yet again by Theron's ability to bring something more to a character that lacks depth on the paper.

The movie (I had not known) is set in Germany in 1989 during the weeks before the Berlin Wall came down. Lorraine (Theron) is a double agent sent to Germany by MI6 in order to reclaim a stolen list of double agents, smuggled by a partner in a wristwatch, now in the hands of a ruthless killer who hopes to sell the names and compromise the safety of hundreds of people. Lorraine is sent to rendezvous with David (James McAvoy), a rouge agent who shaved his head to blend in with the street-punk style of the day. Before arriving, Lorraine is given one head's up: don't trust anyone.

The movie is structured as a flashback. We see Lorraine prepare for an interrogation, body bruised and blood still in her eyes. She looks pained, tired, and dons large sunglasses and a tight white suit as she enters an interrogation room to explain what had just happened. The movie cuts back and forth with great frequency from this interview to 5 days ago then to 2 weeks ago, back and forth and so on and so forth. For a plot so straight forward, I will be the first to admit that this handling of the story left me more confused than anything. A flashback can work to tell a story effectively, but think back to old Rose on Titanic: we didn't need to see her speaking all too frequently during the course of the movie.

The movie obviously takes inspiration from the cultural/bubblegum films of today, pairing catchy pop songs with moments of action. It creates a visceral feel for sure. We match this with neon colors of pink, blue, and red. The movie itself feels like we are watching a living, breathing graphic novel (fitting since it is based on one such comic series from a few years back). The bright colors and David Bowie helps us see past the flaws of the script (or at least forget about it), and the heavy focus on Charlize as our action hero helps us to forgive other mistakes by the filmmakers.

The action in the film is pure energy, some of the best of the year, highlighted by a 15 minute sequence that appears as a single unbroken shot but in fact is an assembly of dozens of takes. As Charlize helps to escort an injured agent out of an abandoned building, she takes the elevator up to the top and floor by floor proceeds to shoot, stab, kill, and punch a variety of armed men. The action is breathless, culminating in a final moment in which she and her attacker are both so bloodied and tired that neither can do more than grunt and crawl on the ground in retaliation. The sequence is one of the year's best, but illustrates the flaw that a movie like ATOMIC BLONDE has: plot is structured around action, not the other way around. What does this mean for the audience? We relish in the fist-fights, but zone out during much of the dialogue and "plot" sequences that make up a majority of the film. It's in no way a "bad" movie. In fact it's one of the more fun times I've had in theaters this summer. I think I'm just upset that the movie tried to be more than it ever needed to be.