Atomic Blonde (2017)

Atomic Blonde Review

Director: David Leitch

Screenwriters: Kurt Johnstad

Producers: Charlize Theron, Beth Kono, A.J Dix, Kelly McCormick, Eric Gitter, and Peter Schwerin

Starring: Charlize Theron, Sofia Boutella, and James McAvoy

Composer: Tyler Bates

Cinematographer: Jonathan Sela

Editor: Elisabet Ronaldsdottir

Production Company: Denver and Delilah Productions

Part I: Introduction

To tell you the truth, I didn't care about Atomic Blonde. Sure, it was interesting to see Charlize Theron, who has proven herself to be a competent action star, to take the role of a super spy, but the movie still didn't seem all that interesting to me to be honest. But, I still went to go see it anyway. Well, did it impress me? No, it didn't.

Part II: Plot Synopsis

Agent Lorraine is assigned a very difficult mission to retrieve a highly important dossier called "The List", which is highly sought out all over the world. 

Part III: Direction & Style

Direction
Director, David Leitch isn't well known for his directing chops, but he has worked in a lot of action movies as a stuntman. Because he has experience in stuntwork, of course, he should be able to excel in directing when it comes to action, and that's very much the case here. When it comes to action, he does well at that. However, when it comes to directing a film for the script and directing the dynamic between characters, he doesn't do as well in that area.

Style
There is a bit of visual flare here. I'll get into some of the uses of its visuals in the cinematography section, but when it comes to pure style, the best way I can explain it is that it's almost like how Suicide Squad's colorful style contrasting over a grey color palette was but it's not exactly as flashy or over-the-top as that.

Part IV: Visual Presentation

Cinematography & Framing
As mentioned in the style section, the film has a bland color palette. But, there were some uses of lighting that I did like at points. Cinematography was handled well.

Camerawork
Camerawork here was solid as expected from an action director. There is an action scene in the movie that is one take and it lasts literally like 5-8 minutes. That's great.

Acting
In terms of performance, obviously, Charlize Theron is the star here and I think she did well as playing Agent Lorraine. She definitely can pull off that capable super spy agent. Everyone else gave okay performances. I highly doubt anyone in this movie will get an Academy Award from this movie.

Editing
The editing here is good when it comes to editing cuts in action sequences. Again, the action sequences are done well and they're edited well in those areas. But, aside from the action sequences, there are a lot of editing errors, especially when it cuts from past to present. This movie is told through the perspective of Lorraine in a debriefing room in the present. So, the film constantly cuts to her telling the story a lot and it's really irritating.

Part V: Sound Design and Musical Composition

Sound Design 

Sound design isn't all that great. This goes hand-in-hand with the score but there are points where I'm trying to hear other details of what's going on other than listening to the score. The score is sometimes played too loudly over what's going on over the action and it's distracting. 

Score

Like I said before in Sound Design, the score can be played too loudly. But, the score isn't really all that bad in of itself. The tracks they chose were decent, but I just didn't like how at points sometimes they play music on blast at some points.

Part VI: Screenwriting & Character Composition

Script & Screenwriting

The script has problems, but I think it's a somewhat decently written script. The most glaring issue I have with the script is its plot structure. I don't who chose to do this, but the film starts off at the end and it has the character basically tell the story to you from beginning to end leading up to current events. There are movies that have done this sort of thing before and it can work, but it doesn't work here. All it does here is completely negate the intensity and the stakes of the situation because you know she'll survive up until that point where she's talking in the debriefing room. And it's really annoying that the movie is telling you what happens instead of using visuals and sound to show you. Have you heard of "show, don't tell". Telling someone a story is pretty much the worst thing you can do when it comes to filmmaking. There's also some problems in the script that I'll address within the other sections.

Character Composition

Character composition is weak here, but I'll give that a pass because it's sorta like how John Wick is in terms of character composition. I don't think anybody will mind the weak characterizations for a movie like this. Speaking of John Wick, the director is the same guy who (partially) directed the first John Wick. I know that's unrelated to this section, but I just wanted to say that.

Pacing

I think one of the film's other major problems is the pacing. The pacing really slows down during the middle of the movie and it does start to feel boring, and it makes the plot really forgettable. So forgettable in fact, that I forgot that the whole point of this movie was about finding this dossier called the list. And the fact that the film constantly cuts back and forth between the present and the past doesn't help the pacing flow either. It's kinda distracting in my opinion. On top of that, some of the action scenes kinda feel too far in between each other.

Part VII: Verdict & Conclusion

Atomic Blonde isn't really a bad movie. It does do well in certain areas. I think people who go into this movie need to know what they're getting into. It's just the storytelling and the plot structure that really flops here in my opinion. I just don't like it when characters just tell you a story rather than show you the story. And what I think will turn many people off is how the film is paced. However, the action sequences and the film's visual presentation does hold it up a bit. It's an okay movie, but it has some glaring technical issues that need to be addressed in maybe an Atomic Blonde sequel.

Score: C