Day
28 Atomic Blonde [2017]
Screenplay Kurt Johnstad
Based
on ‘The Coldest
City’ by Antony Johnston & Sam Hart
Director John Leitch
Cinematography Jonathan Sela
Music Tyler Bates
Leads Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, John
Goodman, Eddie Marsan, Toby Jones
Production Denver and Delilah
Productions, Closed on Mondays Entertainment, 87Eleven
IMDb 6.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes 77%
A
bit of originality I think. I haven’t seen a film like this one for a while. Strong
female lead, 80s pop music, Cold War setting and spies from a number of
different agencies. Theron as the lead definitely steals the show, she is icy
but cracks occasionally, giving her character much needed depth. McAvoy is also
good, playing a character very similar to his character in Filth, a wild
station chief in Berlin who assists Lorraine (Theron) with her mission. It’s
fast-paced, fun and also fairly hard to follow. I am usually an expert at predicting
what is going to happen, but I was all over the place with this one, trying to
figure out who the double agent ‘Satchel’ was. I like it when I struggle
though, unpredictability is desirable. The film is colourfully shot by Sela,
probably his best work in my opinion. It’s good, rather than great, it’ll split
the critics.
Acting 3 / 4
Writing 3 / 4
Cinematography 3.5 / 4
Music 2.5 / 4
HWF rating 3 / 4