"Atomic Blonde"

Holy cow!  Three movies in three weeks! I haven't seen three movies in the entire last 9 months but it's summer and there are Blockbusters out there to support and see and toss $$$ at!  This latest one is the most blockbusterish of all that I have seen in the past weeks because it is like a Jason Bourne movie (and how quickly did that become a brand?) but with a female kick-ass spy person who can do everything Jason Bourne did but has no computer chip planted on her back right shoulder.

First, I have to say that anyone who doesn't like Charlize Theron is either 1) blind or 2) an idiot or 3) both. I don't care what team you play for, she is so incredibly gorgeous that it is difficult to take one's eyes off of her, especially because John Goodman is also in this movie and we all know what a stonefox he is! It's difficult: should I look at Charlize of at JG? One is gorgeous and the other is hairy and big but one is compelled to look at them both!  Well, kidding, if you prefer to look at JG, then I have no words for you. I really like him but compared to looking at Charlize, there is nothing. No comparison. And she has this ability to let absolutely  no emotion register on her face. Her face becomes as if it was cut in stone. 

But back to the movie. It takes place in 1989 when the Berlin Wall is coming down, an amazing year in history, and it's an amazing year in music as well, which is sampled in this movie. Who doesn't like all that late 80's music, the likes of David Bowie, Depeche Mode, Queen, New Order, Duran Duran, Cure, and more.  The soundtrack is amazing and perfect. At one point I was actually almost waving my arms in the air, which hasn't happened in a little while in a dark theater.  But what better place, right?

Berlin is dark and dank and the Cold War is in full force, so this is about spies, counter spies, counter-counter spies, treachery, betrayal and fighting.  There is a lot of hand-to-hand combat of the most brutal kind, involving every sort of thing you could use, like a hot plate, pipes, hoses, corkscrew, guns with no bullets, stiletto heels and other day-to-day things you can find laying around the house.  At one point I had to close my eyes for about ten seconds just because the fighting was getting a bit too much, but hey, it's only movie violence. But still, it went on too long. 

If you don't mind the personal affliction of injury and pain, more than in the Bourne movies, or if you are willing to just cover your eyes for a few seconds, the movie is worth seeing.  Theron is amazing, not just because she fights better than Bourne but she is marginally better looking than Matt Damon. There are spy twists and turns and double crossing stuff, and the end is cool......  I give it two bandaged thumbs up, black eyes included.  A summer blockbuster!

Let's see what we can find to see next week!

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