ATOMIC BLONDE

What if JOHN WICK opened up with the 'Boogyman' himself in a interrogation room? We fade in on a bruised up face of John, and a couple of police detectives asking him "Okay, start from the beginning."? The movie would be pretty boring. Yes, the movie would retain all the amazing action but the stakes are now zero. This is my biggest issue with ATOMIC BLONDE.

Maybe it's too much of a nitpick; but seriously, during every action scene I knew she was going to make it out alive. Unlike in JOHN WICK where I was on the edge of my seat wondering if the title character was going to survive or not? Part of it was because Wick had a death wish.

In ATOMIC BLONDE I found myself not caring because the audience knows she's going to make it out alive. That being said, I loved every action scene in the film! Director David Leitch knows how to direct action. The era of Paul Greengrass/shaky cam action is over, and good riddance!

Besides the great action set pieces, the look of the film is beautiful. Set in 1989, ATOMIC BLONDE really felt like an Eighties movie. I definitely got a Michael Mann vibe, and maybe even Walter Hill!

The only throwback quality that I thought missed the mark was the film's soundtrack? Don't get me wrong the music choices were excellent! I just thought that the execution of said songs were off a bit? Maybe BABY DRIVER spoiled me to much?

One last good thing I liked about the movie was that ATOMIC BLONDE just didn't feel like a JOHN WICK clone. Instead we get a spy movie! Good move on Leitch's part! I guess the trailers hinted at it and I just wasn't paying close attention?

Here's what IMDB says:

An undercover MI6 agent is sent to Berlin during the Cold War to investigate the murder of a fellow agent and recover a missing list of double agents.

I really don't feel like getting into spoilers because the plot of ATOMIC BLONDE is kind of a mess. No more a mess than say SPECTRE, but a mess nonetheless. My saving grace in piecing together the plot was only due to the fact that I've seen a lot of movies. Probably a cop out on my end, but it's true. I figured out who Lorraine was 5 minutes into the film. And the bad guy is pretty predictable.

In the end so what, because the action was cool. I paid to see Charlize Theron kick ass for 2 hours, and I felt that I got my money's worth.

And I cannot wait for ATOMIC BLONDE 2: JAGGED LITTLE KILL (ya know, the Nineties)! Because maybe in that one she won't be telling a story how it all went down, that way the stakes can be a higher!

In all honesty I will probably be seeing ATOMIC BLONDE in the theater again just because I am a fan of the action choreography and the director. It's a dream come true for me that we are finally getting American action films like this! 2017 is shaping up to becoming a great year in the action genre. It's dumb as all get out but I'm including xXx: RETURN OF XANDER CAGE in that roster.

Final thoughts, ATOMIC BLONDE is highly recommend for fans of stylish films and action movies. Do not miss it in the theater!