Atomic Blonde

Front Row at the Movies by Shirrel Rhoades

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There’s a category of movies that are pure action, the plot merely an excuse for the thrills. The antihero may be a cop or spy or ex-assassin, doesn’t matter. “John Wick” was a movie like that, a perfect choreography of shoot-em-up and knock-em-down. “Atomic Blonde” is another.

We don’t really go to see movies like this for the storyline, but rather for the pure cathartic exuberance of the slam-bam adrenaline-laden action sequences.

Charlize Theron stars as Lorraine, the atomic blonde who works for Britain’s MI6, her job to investigate the death of a fellow spy in Berlin and recover a list of double agents. She must deal with another MI6 agent (Toby Jones) and a CIA ally (John Goodman), but these John Le Carré touches are merely a distraction from what we bought our popcorn to see: sexy lithe-limbed Charlize Theron kicking butt.

Following her scene-stealing performance in the recent “Mad Max,” Theron cements her status as a female action hero with “Atomic Blonde.” This new outing is set up for future installments, although it’s dubious whether one will follow or not. That said, there was indeed a sequel to “John Wick,” and that film’s co-director David Leitch is the guy behind the hyperstylized action of “Atomic Blonde.”

This is Leitch’s first solo credit as director. A former stuntman, he has doubled for Brad Pitt five times and two times for Jean-Claude Van Damme. So he clearly knows the rock-em sock-em routine. 

“Atomic Blonde” is currently knocking heads at Tropic Cinema.

The movie is based on “The Coldest City,” a 2012 graphic novel by Antony Johnson and Sam Hart. The translation to the screen is well done, with dazzling cinematography, neon colors, smooth camera movement, and stylized fight sequences. It’s a dark, quirky film with a well-chosen soundtrack.

Naturally, our femme fatale has a manic sidekick, the embedded MI6 station chief (James McAvoy). And there’s some hot girl-on-girl sex with a French operative (Sofia Boutella).

But the emphasis is on violence. Our gal Lorraine engages in a numerous gunfights, providing plenty of blood. She shoots multiple assailants in a fancy hotel room, beats the crap out of an antagonist in a moving car, takes on multiple guys with a stick and whip-like rope, and conducts a brutal several-minutes-long one-take hand-to-hand bare-knuckles battle on a stairway.

Charlize Theron had eight personal trainers to help her get in share for this role. Nonetheless, she broke two teeth during the no-holds-barred filming.

“Everyone you get close to ends up dead,” Lorraine’s handlers observe.

“This only ends one way — a bullet,” she says.

Email Shirrel: srhoades@aol.com