Atomic Blonde

Atomic Blonde is probably the best movie I'll see all year, which is unfortunate since it's only February. It's directed by the same guy who did John Wick, and it has a similar feel. It's really a love letter to Charlize, Berlin, and a slick modern/future version of the '80s. The action is solid, there are some inspired song choices, and the cinematography is striking. I recommend seeing it on the big screen if you can.

I'm not a huge fan of Charlize Theron, but I don't think I've ever seen James McAvoy in a movie that I didn't like. And the action for Atomic Blonde looked like it would be cool. It turns out that it was directed by the same guy who did John Wick. I can see that.

The first 20 minutes of the movie are definitely the best. The first three songs that they play are great, the action is nice, it looks good overall, and the characters are interesting.

I love the opening scene, and just the entire look of Gascoigne in the boots and bathrobe. They lost me a little bit with the scene in his apartment. I felt like she should just run away instead of trying to fight the police. And it didn't seem like there was any reason to for her to put her sweater over her face before the fight when she got back to the street. It seemed like it was just a random thing that somebody thought would look cool.

I'm watching the commentary, and it turns out that Percival's cast wasn't scripted. McAvoy broke his hand on something unrelated, and they just worked it in, which is cool. It also wasn't scripted for there to be a scene where he kills Bakhtin, which is crazy. The director just had the idea to shoot it. You definitely need that scene.

I love Charlize's hair. It was the star of the movie. And her outfits and shoes were cool, too. It really does seem like a love letter to Charlize and Berlin. The whole thing looks great. I like the "80s but modern and futuristic" thing they had going. Her hotel room was gorgeous, with all that marble in the bathroom. And I liked the neon reflecting on the TV.

I loved the part of the fight with the blonde guy where they were both just staggering around. It was so brutal. I liked every scene that Percival was in, although I can't say that I liked the character. McAvoy did a great job with him, though. I liked Merkel, the guy who was helping Charlize. The scene where we meet him on the roof was cool.

The fight in the theater was another one that didn't really seem necessary. It was just another obstacle in her way, slowing things down. It was a cool shot when she hit him with the ladder, though. The colors seemed a little washed out. The original title was The Coldest City, so I guess  that's just the vibe they were going for. Charlize was so white in some scenes that she looked like a zombie.

I liked the way the interrogation scenes broke up the tension of the movie. And I liked the the mention of sampling on the news foreshadowed what Lorraine did with the tapes. The idea to have Percival tell the Russians to kill Spyglass came from McAvoy, which is crazy. It gave his character so much depth that would have been lacking without it.

The director was going for kind of a music video vibe, which makes sense. And he also just wanted it to look "cool" in general, which I think he achieved. 

I liked the thing with the umbrellas. I guess it was a good trick that she was Satchel, and she was working for the CIA. I didn't really like her accent. It didn't seem consistent. I guess that fits her character, since she turned out to be American, but I still don't really like it.