ATOMIC BLONDE film review (Mark Glass)

– By Mark Glass –

There’s a guy named David Leitch who’s been a stunt man on over 80 action flicks; shared directing duties on a slew of others including JOHN WICK, JURASSIC WORLD, two Ninja Turtle films, and other major horror, sci-fi and comedy fare; even more noteworthy, he’s been given the helm for next year’s DEADPOOL 2 – the sequel to one of my favorites in the genre. So how could he get an espionage script, starring Charlize Theron, Sofia Boutella (the smokin’ hot assassin from KINGSMAN) and James McAvoy, set in 1989 Berlin, as the wall is about to come down, and deliver such a muddled, tedious product?

The character and story apparently come from a popular series of French comics (graphic novels, to older fans seeking rationales for their tastes). This film seemed longer than reading books must have been … or perhaps even more than needed to slog through “War and Peace.” Theron plays a top spy for MI6, dispatched to the divided city to retrieve a list of East German moles, plants, double agents, etc. that got their last guy killed. McAvoy heads their local bureau in a highly dubious manner. Boutella is a French agent whose country, like all others, is salivating over the prospect of acquiring such priceless intel.

As to the alluring title, our protagonist is surely as blonde as can be, but waaaay short on matching any definition the preceding adjective might portend. Nothing literally nuclear is involved; nor is there any of the frenzied, large-scale action it might metaphorically connote. She certainly wasn’t empowered by exposure to some form of exotic radiation, like a certain renowned arachnoid-themed hero of print and screens.

READ THE FULL REVIEW AT CLAYTON/RICHMOND HEIGHTS PATCH:

https://patch.com/missouri/clayton-richmondheights/movie-review-atomic-blonde