Charlize Theron stars in Atomic Blonde |
Sticks and Stones
Rotten Tomatoes Plot: A high-stakes, global action-thriller that takes place in the city of Berlin, on the eve of the Wall's collapse and the shifting of superpower alliances. Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road) portrays Lorraine Broughton, a top-level spy for MI6, who is dispatched to Berlin to take down a ruthless espionage ring that has just killed an undercover agent for reasons unknown. She is ordered to cooperate with Berlin station chief David Percival (James McAvoy of X-Men), and the two form an uneasy alliance, unleashing their full arsenal of skills in pursuing a threat that jeopardizes the West's entire intelligence operation. Directed by David Leitch.
Lorraine proclaims, "I'm glad it was convincing." Convincing doesn't begin to describe Theron's dynamic performance in Leitch's Atomic Blonde. The South African Oscar winner strikes and struts her way through Berlin, delivering the 80s' 007 we never got from Timothy Dalton. The action is relentless (perhaps too much so) but I'm not complaining. I could watch Theron kick butt (and make out with Sofia Boutella) all day. The story, an all-too-familiar hunt for an "atomic bomb of information" fails to inspire, but the breakneck pace, physical aerobics and stylish packaging/soundtrack are so good, you probably won't even mind/notice.
Grade: B