Atomic Blonde - Cinco dedos, arriba, Arriba!
Reposted from the Lounge.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1018971918
I didn't go into that movie thinking "Charlize Theron. Holy Shit." But I practically danced out of that theater thinking "Charlize Theron! Holy Shit!"
First, Atomic Blonde is such a put-down title. Even "Salt" would have been better, but that title was already taken. The movie takes place mostly in Berlin in the days before, during and after the Berlin Wall came down. That historical event was the backdrop for all the spy machinations that were going on behind the scenes, or on the silver screen, as it were.
The movie is told in a clever way. Starts in real time, and then the events that involve Charlize Theron's character, Lorraine Broughton, are told during a first person debriefing. On par with the Russian spy stories that we remember from the eighties, and lots of good eighties songs to help score the scenes. In fact, I thought, geez, we should never have let our guard down with the Russians. This movie will help get us back on track.
Lots of twists and turns, which is why there is no point to say more and ruin the fun. You might think that the movie might lag in parts as they develop characters, but it's so worth it. At first, I thought the graffiti paint font they used to cue in the scenes was a bit juvenile, like the title, but I understand that the font references the graffiti paint on the Berlin Wall, and I take it as an invitation to suspend disbelief and enjoy a movie that is as good, if not better, than a Super hero movie.
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Having a ready-made story - and the popularity of the graphic novel form - this looks like a vehicle for Ms. Theron to put a fresh spin on the "super spy/super human" Bond/Bourne genre.
If it did gangbusters, it might move to original material, but box office doesn't look like it.
Kathryn Bigelow's "Detroit" is coming out next.
Is it a coincidence that, along with "Wonder Woman," so many high-profile female roles in this summer's movie-making are coming out the year we should have had our first female president?
More of "Our Year of the Woman." 