Bad-ass, bi-sexual and British, what we thought of Charlize Theron’s Atomic Blonde

Donning a black mini-skirt and thigh-high, heeled boots complete with garters, one glance at Charlize Theron’s outfit in Atomic Blonde would have you thinking she was dressing up for a night on the tiles. Wait approximately 2.5 seconds until this lithe figure transforms until a total killing machine, and you’ll realise this is one film that’ll keep you guessing right until the bloodied end.

Theron plays Lorraine Broughton, an MI6 agent in her Majesty’s Secret Service. As ice-cold as the baths she repeatedly takes throughout the film, Lorraine’s character is every bit the stony, hostile, take-no-bullshit heroine.

Following in the footsteps of other heroines before her, Atomic Blonde joins a long list of films which trace the journey of an ass-kicking, female protagonist. Except this time, our heroine is a chain-smoking, vodka-drinking, blonde bombshell with a penchant for killer heels (literally).

Set in November 1989, the week the Berlin Wall came down, Lorraine’s mission is to retrieve a coveted list of spies and their codenames, which stolen by a rogue KGB operative, and catch a British double agent working in West Germany. In a solitary glimpse of her humanity, we learn that her mission is also personal – Lorraine was linked to a betrayed and murdered spy based in Berlin before her. Dark motivation and cause for some serious revenge? Check and check.

We’re assuming the production budget was considerable, here, what with a consistent stream of ‘80s-appropriate theming extending everywhere from a dimly-lit bar and Lorraine’s plush apartment, to the city’s streets, and the replication of the famed wall. 

In fact, it’s so easy to become lost in nostalgic aesthetic of this late ‘80s period piece, that by the end of the film you’ll half expect to walk outside the cinema greeted by red and blue neon lights.

Atomic Blonde switches between Berlin, where all the action happens, and interrogation room where Lorraine is being drilled for information by CIA chief Emmet Kurzfeld (John Goodman), and the mysterious Chief C, an MI6 figurehead (James Faulkner) hidden behind two-way glass.

This style of film-making breaks up the numerous action sequences, and allows for some proper dialogue to keep the storyline on track throughout the 1 hr 55 min feature.

Lorraine encounters (and is subsequently deceived by) a number of characters throughout her mission, namely James McAvoy’s David Percival, an MI6 station chief gone rogue.

David is every bit the grease monkey he appears, cheap fur coat slung over his shoulders and a limp cigarette hanging out of his mouth, and we quickly learn that like many other characters in the film, he isn’t to be trusted.

We’re shown another brief glimpse of our heroine’s humanity when she attempts to help a British informant known as Spyglass to flee Berlin (spoiler alert: she fails).

We learn Lorraine’s sexual orientation is as duplicitous as her line of work when we meet French agent, Delphine. The duo strike up a rapport after Delphine ‘saves’ Lorraine in a bar, and before we know it, they’re scantily clad, writhing around in bed together in a steamy tryst that momentarily had us forgetting the feminist undertones of the film (male gaze, anyone?).

Every bit the quintessential spy thriller, Atomic Blonde was directed by John Leitch, so it’s no surprise the film boasts a pummeling visceral quality for which he is known. The former stunt performer and coordinator knows how to choreograph an action scene, which you can believe many were performed by Theron herself.

In one particular fight scene, we are treated to a10-minute, single-take (or so we were led to believe) brawl between Lorraine and KGB agents on a stairwell in an apartment building. These long takes give the sense of exactly how difficult fighting to some to death must actually be, with all characters noticeably exhausted, left panting and giddy after taking round after round of hits.

But it doesn’t stop there. There are countless fight scenes throughout the film, all perfectly choreographed to 1980s synth pop hits – think Nena’s ‘99 Luftballons’, New Order’s ‘Blue Enemy’ and ‘Cat People’ by David Bowie. You’ll be forgiven for wanting to toe tap along during wall-to-wall punch-ups, curb stomps, gun pops and screwdriver stabs – that’s just how catchy the soundtrack is.

The best part of Atomic Blonde, in our view, was the costuming. Seriously. If we could steal every monochromatic piece out of Lorraine’s wardrobe we could in a heartbeat. Each piece serves dual purpose, not only to make her look like a total badass b*tch, but to disguise the brutal abrasions and bruises tracing her body. Her hair always appears perfectly coiffed, as she skulks around in a series of slinky slip dresses, long-line coats, leather gloves, ribbed turtle necks and patterned over-sized jumpers.

Paired perfectly with a selection from her lethal collection of heels, every street and alley is transformed into her very own catwalk.

Based on the minimalist graphic novel The Coldest City, written by Anthony Johnston, we’re predicting Atomic Blonde to rise as the female-led iteration of James Bond for 2017.

R16: contains graphic violence, offensive language, sex scenes and nudity 

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