Theatrical release poster
by Peter J. O'Connell
Atomic Blonde. Released: July 2017. Runtime: 115 mins. MPAA Rating: R for sequences of strong violence, language throughout, and some sexuality/nudity.
Broughton is a Bourne/Bond. In Atomic Blonde, directed by David Leitch, superspy Lorraine Broughton (Charlize Theron) whacks and hacks her way across Berlin like a female James Bond or Jason Bourne, except more brutal. It's 1989 in the days before the fall of the Wall. Lorraine has been sent by Britain's MI6 to retrieve The List, which contains information on a large number of Soviet agents moving into the West. It's said that these agents could keep the Cold War, which seems about to end with the Wall, “going for another 40 years.” Lorraine's mission is also to kill Satchel, a double agent who has been selling classified information to the Soviets.
We learn of Lorraine's adventures in Berlin in flashbacks from her debriefing by MI6's Eric Gray (Toby Jones) and CIA agent Emmett Kurzfeld (John Goodman), who make neo-noirish comments. In East Germany Lorraine has to maneuver amid the machinations of: David Percival (James McAvoy), her MI6 contact, who has his own agenda; KGB agent Yuri Bakhtin (Johannes Johannesson), who has his own agenda; Aleksander Bremovych (Roland Moller), an arms dealer who has his own espionage ring; Spyglass (Eddie Marsan), an East German secret-police officer with information about The List, who wants to defect to the West; and Delphine Lasalle (Sofia Boutella), a French operative who enters into a steamy relationship with Lorraine.
The movie always shows its comic-book (a/k/a “graphic novel”) origins in Antony Johnston and Sam Hart's The Coldest City but adds elements from classier Cold War films. The cinematography by Jonathan Sela is about as close to black-and-white as color can get, and the atmosphere of the Berlin of 1989 is recreated well. The soundtrack is a treasure trove of '80s British, American, and European hits, mostly syntho-techno. (Curiously, what would seem one obvious choice, '80s supergroup Blondie's “Atomic,” doesn't make the cut.)
The main appeal of Atomic Blonde, however, lies in seeing Theron as the beauteous Broughton engage in one bloody beatdown after another. Director Leitch's background as a stuntman can definitely be seen in these scenes. For example, one gasp-inducing piece of extended combat, mostly up and down an apartment building stairwell, goes on for eight minutes and involves multiple fights with multiple opponents in which Lorraine uses fists, feet, guns, and knives. A spectacular car chase follows, ending up in a desperate struggle to avoid drowning in a river. There are also battles in which Lorraine's weapons are such things as keys, a garden hose (used to strangle bad guys), and stiletto heels.
Yes, Atomic Blonde has plenty of explosive action and in Theron a magnetic star. As for meaning, that might be as hard to find as the Wall in the Berlin of today.
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