I believe it is going to be a good year for both
television and movies. Times are changing and there has been a marked change in
the gender gap. For the first time in the history of television, a woman has
been cast as the ‘Doctor’. That’s right folks, BBC announced that the 13th
Doctor will be played by Jodie Whittaker of Broadchurch fame. Which
got everyone talking, is it also time for a female Bond? Why not? A girl can dream
at least. But before anything of that actually happens, I take the pleasure in
thinking that Lorraine Broughton IS the female 007. And I am talking about Charlize Theron’s latest action spy
thriller film – Atomic Blonde.
Directed by David Leitch, the film
is based on the graphic novel The Coldest
City. Lorraine Broughton is an MI6 agent, asked to retrieve a top secret
list naming all the undercover agents on the eve of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
There is the MI6, there is KGB, there is CIA and Lorraine has to manoeuvre all
of them to get to the list. Well, that is basically the plot in a nutshell. To be
honest, the storyline isn’t the strong suit of the movie, the asset is – Charlize Theron. Atomic Blonde shines
simply because it has been one of the most unconditionally entertaining action
movies of the year. Because when the action sets in, you almost forget the careless
storyline and script.
Theron is very much
the centre of attention of the movie; without her the film would have sunk
without a trace. Lorraine Broughton is less of a character but more of an
attitude. Not a lot is revealed about Broughton’s person life except for a past
and present fling. But it is thrilling to see her in action, because she is
really, really good at her job – beating the crap out of people. Or we can be
subtle and say hand to hand combat. She is the neon lit warrior and this is
where Leitch’s stylish filmmaking catches the eye. All of the shots are
something to savour which ranges from the garish luminous colours of a West
Berlin bar; the suffocating despair of an East Berlin neighborhood; splendid chase
sequences amidst a chaotic protest in East Berlin. The movie further seats into
the time period with the synth score and a soundtrack of recognizable ’80s hits
that accompany virtually every scene in the movie. I enjoy a good electro
pop and I have been blaring Health’s rendition
of Blue Monday ever since I saw the
movie.
Atomic
Blonde
has some remarkably good one-on-one combat scenes in which Theron establishes
some serious martial arts chops. This is especially evident in the
film’s best scene: a ten-minute long fight in an apartment building; the
flawless editing makes it look like a single shot. Lorraine battles a team of Russian agents
and it’s an impressive fight scene because it is choreographed to perfection
and so fluent in its movement. It is shot valiantly, as it becomes a remarkable
lesson because it acknowledges just how hard fighting
someone to death must be. By the final stretch of this real-time brawl, Theron
and her opponents are noticeably battered, panting, unsteady on their feet, and
frequently backing away from each other to catch their breath. Theron stated
that she worked out with 8 trainers prior to the shooting of the movie and each
one of them “made her puke” after the intense workout sessions.
The violence might seem a little staggering at times, but
it is a necessary evil for this type of movie. The audience sees Lorraine with
her battle wounds, examining her naked form in front of a mirror, under a neon
blue light. She soaks in an ice bath after a terribly intense battle that
accurately depicts what it feels like to be a woman in this field. With its big guns, hard punches, immaculately chic clothes, and
beautiful people, a nostalgic soundtrack that puts the audience in a trance and
the whole affair in funky neon ’80s fluorescence, Atomic Blonde makes for the perfect late-July blockbuster.