Theron's polymath, polyamorous, maybe poly-nationalistic Lorainne winds up bruised and is probably an alcoholic. This makes her much less the spy-as-superhero of the early Bond franchise and much more the "Skyfall" vulnerable and brutish spy-as-again-government-asset. Unfolding as the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, the plot also recalls "Skyfall" with its mixed motivations of the good guy and sympathy for the bad guy. The plot also blatantly recycles the plot of "Goldeneye" and dozens of other stories by having the spies competing for a computerized list (which was a big deal in 1989) of the world's double agents (an "atomic bomb" of info that gives the film it's name). Having said all that, the movie isn't about what it is about. Like the recent "Baby Driver", it's about atmosphere, action, tone, noir and sophistication. Like the practical effects in "Baby Driver", the practical fight sequences are breathtaking with stuntpeople being (seemingly) openly kicked down flights of stairs without an editor to rescue them. In short, a good movie to go into with one shaken and not stirred martini working against you so you let the proceedings wash over you more than think about them.
Review of Atomic Blonde
