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Blu-ray Review: “Atomic Blonde” Is A Lethal Game Of Cat And Mouse

[yasr_overall_rating]
 

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.

For all intents and purposes, let’s just establish that Charlize Theron (Lorraine Broughton) can almost do no wrong. Her versatility as an actress is far-reaching in comparison to those in her same field. Her role in this film as an undercover MI6 Agent casts her brains, beauty, and undeniable talent as a trifecta, and that coupled with being paired with James McAvoy as Agent David Percival is a match made in heaven. Director David Leitch’s ability to use this advantageous pairing of Spies in an action-packed thriller works tremendously well with the conscious-coupling and uncoupling required of the plot.

In the midst of the Cold War, undercover Spy Lorraine Broughton is sent to Berlin, Germany to investigate the murder of a fellow agent and recover “The List,” which is a working copy of double agents. The spy games immediately begin during the opening scenes as Lorraine is being interrogated and apprised of her mission. Her un-impressionable attitude puts the interrogators in a quandary as to the best way to approach her in order to get her buy-in while forcing the idea that she has little option other than to go with the flow. Starting from the end and going forward, Lorraine paints a complicated picture of the physical and emotional treatment she has endured at the hands of her supporters while at the same time demonstrating the cockiness that she is the only person who would be able to pull the mission off. Eddie Marsan’s role as Spyglass and John Goodman’s role as Emmett Kurzfeld are equal parts good and evil and serve extremely well to keep this thriller complicated and aggravating. As Lorraine faces each of her distracters, the trickery amongst the spies takes on a whole new level, while the ass-kicking skills of Broughton are highly entertaining and demonstrably admirable. At the end of her mission, when the bruised and battered Broughton seems to have met her final match, the twist of fate carries our heroine to her unequivocal goal of being the smartest spy in the room.

The film, which has many comparisons to 2015’s “Mad Max: Fury Road” and the Bond series of films, is definitely a thriller that keeps the audience on the edge of their seats and is worthy of praise in its depiction of how every part of Berlin was impacted by the Cold War, however, as each spy’s agenda becomes compromised by the unscrupulous placement of “The List,” the flow becomes uncertain and slightly aggravating. In the end, the ass-kicking skills of Theron are majorly cheer-worthy and carry the film even though certain scenes have disproportionate reaction times which take away from the overall thrill. As a spy-infused action thriller, though, it is well worth the price of admission when looked upon as a lethal game of cat and mouse!

Available on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD, & On Demand November 14th

 

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Tracee Bond

Tracee is a movie critic and interviewer who was born in Long Beach and raised in San Diego, California. As a Human Resource Professional and former Radio Personality, Tracee has parlayed her interviewing skills, interest in media, and crossover appeal into a love for the Arts and a passion for understanding the human condition through oral and written expression. She has been writing for as long as she can remember and considers it a privilege to be complimented for the only skill she has been truly able to master without formal training!