'Atomic Blonde' REVIEW: Charlize Theron kicks tonnes of ass in a stylish, but frustrating sp

'Atomic Blonde' comes to us from one of the directors of John Wick (2014) and is based on the graphic novel 'The Coldest City' (In case you didn't know that). The film stars Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, Sofia Boutella, John Goodman and Toby Jones. When I first saw the trailer of this film, I was instantly excited. It looked like John Wick meets James Bond (If James Bond was Jane Bond instead). The trailer had catchy music from the 80's and it had the action you'd expect from one of the directors of John Wick. However, after coming home from watching the film wasn't the action packed extravaganza or has the intriguing espionage as the premise suggests.

This film is about an undercover MI6 agent named Lorraine Broughton (played by Charlize Theron) who is tasked by Eric Gray, Broughton's MI6 superior to be sent to Berlin during the Cold War to investigate the murder of a fellow agent and recover a missing list of double agents alongside David Percival, an eccentric Berlin station chief who might have ulterior motives.

The best element that makes the film stand out in my eyes is the action and how they're directed to give this quality much inspired from comic books. The director as well as the camera man are able to follow many kinetic movements and stunts performed by Charlize Theron and other stunt people. Be on the lookout for one action highlight with a scene that starts in a stair well and ends on the streets of Berlin all done in a singular shot. Believe me when I say I was on the edge of my seat the whole time when that sequence was taking place. Speaking of Charlize Theron, she was also great in the film action and performance wise. She was totally believable as this spy who won't think twice and just kill you on the spot, she was excellent. Other supporting actors such as James McAvoy who's by far the most fun to watch as well as Sofia Boutella as Delphine who's given more to do in comparison to her other starring roles in films such as Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014), Star Trek Beyond (2016) and this year's The Mummy (2017), but she is still mostly underutilized in the film as Lorraine's lesbian lover. Like I said before, not only are the action sequences make the film feel like a comic book, but the whole film in general. This film definitely boasts style which leads me into my negatives of the film.

While this film boasts plenty of stylish action scenes, the film unfortunately doesn't have much under the surface. The fact that the film doesn't have much thematically would be fine if the film didn't have such a needlessly convoluted and scatterbrained plot to go with it. When the action sequences are happening you're having fun, it's paced well and choreographed finely. When those action sequences are over, it becomes drastically sluggish and therefore wears out the pacing of this film. The film also lacks character development as well. Throughout the whole film I found myself waiting for anything interesting to learn about our main protagonist, but it never happens which makes it complicated to feel emotionally attached to our hero and worse yet even our hero is mostly emotionless the entire film. It's not only hero, but even the supporting characters. We never know their needs and motivation and leaves me with wanting more when there's not enough of it.

Overall, while the film has bursts of genuine entertainment it just feels so empty. Undeveloped characters and plot make it difficult to truly feel invested with what's going on. It tries to be more cleverer than it thinks by throwing twists and turns that seem unearned. If you just watch this movie for just the action you'll get your money's worth. As a whole it's stylish, but slow.

'Atomic Blonde' gets a C+