[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.
Don’t get me wrong. The masses will fawn over this film, by the droves. But that’s because there are enough comic book fans and horny teenage boys in any given city to completely and enthusiastically make this film a rocking success. And yes, Charlize Theron is absofuckinglutely hot – even in full zombie mode. What is more, if you care to know a little background on how talented she actually is as an actor, she performed 98% of her own stunts in “Atomic Blonde.”
I say “Charlize” because that’s just about all that registers in this film. She stars as Lorraine Broughton, an undercover agent during the Cold War. Murders are rampant for the search of a list naming undercover agents on the market and there is also a double agent who is killing other agents. Other than that, there is no plot and no explanation of anything. You get the impression that there is supposed to be a meaningful plot because the background noise is the historical “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall,” but the film starts with the brutal hit on an agent and from there it’s all face-stabbing and giant men crashing backwards onto an amazing abundance of glass furniture during the Cold War.
Seriously, the narrative is practically non-essential and non-existent. Don’t try to make too much sense out of it. Even at the final plot twist-twist-twist, if you think backward, nope, it won’t make sense. It’s not like some giant light bulb will go on and suddenly you’ll understand. There are a few weak attempts at revealing a twist, but, really, all the best twists are Theron’s ass in the air as she chest kicks another Russian giant down the stairs.
And if you love brutality, this is the show for you. Especially if you think it’s funny, oddly enough. The excessive sound of breaking bones may have eventually desensitized the audience halfway through the film. One scene is Theron and some KGB brute going at it in slow motion, stumbling around, trying to kill each other in a dazed bloody, battered dance…and the audience laughed. Actually chuckled! I think, perhaps, the audience had already succumbed to the psychological effect of displaced humor when numbed by the onslaught of death. This film is so action-packed that most of the characters die. I mean, death is really the ultimate action, right?…unless, of course, the director wanted to create a mashup of the zombie apocalypse with the KGB. (Probably that will be in the already-being-discussed sequel).
So, go, lust after Lorraine’s luscious lips. Be amazed at her skills in fabulous heels and how sexy she makes the ’80s clothing look. And don’t miss the hottest girl-on-girl scene I’ve watched in a while. Plus, the soundtrack is pretty dope. To sum it up, all possible stars go to Theron. She’s quite frankly the only reason the film will be a success.
In theaters Friday, July 28th
