Atomic Blonde
Director: David Leitch
Year Released: 2017
Rating: 1.5
Prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall, MI6 agent Lorraine (Charlize Theron) is ordered to recover a list of foreign agents that's hidden in a watch - station chief David Percival (James McAvoy) is supposed to assist her, but he's gone a wee bit rogue (à la Kurtz). Leitch worked on the first John Wick picture, so there's a clear connection to that ... except there's way too much plotting for what is really just a streamlined shoot-'em-up with a bad-ass female killer - the movie briefly jumps to life when Theron has to save a German defector (Eddie Marsan) from KGB assassins, but otherwise it's a fluorescent-colored chore (with a decent soundtrack). Normally I enjoy Theron's performances, but she's a bit hammy (her accent doesn't sound quite right) - same goes for McAvoy, but I've come to expect that from him. The biggest sin of all is using Tarkovsky as a backdrop for some dumb fight scene ... talk about homage-gone-wrong.
