Having been an uncredited co-director on John Wick, David Leitch (a former stunt man, who clearly knows a thing or two about action cinema) arrives on the scene with his feature debut.
Atomic Blonde comes across as something of a miss-sold film based on the trailer and title. You could be forgiven for expecting a female led John Wick and the film certainly appeared not to take itself too seriously prior to release.
Instead what we have here is a Berlin set cold war thriller, closer in tone and plot to a Bourne film or something like ‘Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy’. Once you come to terms with this then there is still a lot of stylish entertainment on offer but not quite as much out and out fun as one might expect. That doesn’t mean to say it’s plain sailing though, the choppy narrative can prove to be distracting, plot elements come and go so quickly that the film lacks a much-needed sense of cohesion. Whilst it looks great, it is more annoying than effective. This technique leaves the film with something of an identity crisis and lacking the required elements for you to fully engage with the story.
Set pieces though are excellent and one stand out fight (you’ll know when you see it) is certainly up there with the greats of the genre. In fact, there isn’t a weak fight scene in the film and any director who wants to stage a ruck in a Tarkovsky screening is ok by me. Charlize Theron yet again kicks ass with the best of them and lends the film a lot of character. Further proof should not be needed that she is more than a match for any men that Hollywood can throw at the screen.
Support comes from a number of starry names, James McAvoy plays an MI6 agent with questionable motives and being brutally honest isn’t at his best here. Rather than imbuing the character with any sense of charm we instead get a cocky and slightly unlikeable performance that feels a lot like he is ‘phoning it in’. Better though are John Goodman and Toby Jones who eat up the screen when debriefing Theron’s character and prove to be more than an adequate foil for her brash one liners. Sofia Boutella puts in an appearance here as well and whilst solid in her ‘out her depth’ agent role it is a shame to her sideline as little more than a sex object at times.
The soundtrack is excellent (if a little obvious) and is the perfect companion to Leitch’s stylish visuals and Theron’s peerless wardrobe!
Fun then but could have been better if it had either tightened up the story or gone with full bore action mayhem. That being said it certainly marks out Leitch as a director to watch and is certainly strong enough where it matters to bode well for Deadpool 2.
Author: Paul, Cheltenham Store
