I have seen it said of _Atomic Blonde_ that it is hollow piece wrapped in an attractive shell. I would respond by saying that "attractive" hardly does the shell justice, it's absolutely fucking gorgeous. Otherwise though that sounds about right. No, in all seriousness, the plot itself is more than fine. Even the absolute worst aspects from any individual part of _Atomic Blonde_, no matter how much you pick them apart, more than pass the litmus test for minimum acceptable standard. It truly is a case of style over substance, and that is something that I can understand the complaint for. But it's style **over** substance, not style **instead of** substance. At no point did I feel that the story was cobbled together as an excuse to get to the next setpiece. The story was what it was (a pretty genuine throwback to the espionage thrillers of the late and post-Cold War era) and the aesthetic, the music, the design, was simply how that story was chosen to be delivered. And a brilliant choice at that. Walking in, I was already certain that I was going to like the film, because even if it was just an extended version of the trailer, then it appealed enough to my personal tastes that I was in for a good time. Walking out, I knew that taking everything beyond those factors into account, I didn’t just like _Atomic Blonde_, I loved it. _Final rating:★★★★ - Very strong appeal. A personal favourite._

IN MY DREAMS I AM LORIANNE BROUGHTON, IN REALITY I AM MONA LISA VITO. OH WELL A GIRL CAN DREAM. CHARLIZE THERION IS ICEY COLD PERFECTION.

IN MY DREAMS I AM LORIANNE BROUGHTON, IN REALITY I AM MONA LISA VITO. OH WELL A GIRL CAN DREAM. CHARLIZE THERION IS ICEY COLD PERFECTION.

It SHOULD have been good. It is a spy movie with a basic spy movie plot. It promises double crosses and intrigue. But it never really delivers on the suspense and tension that are the principle trope of good spy movies...and it never really delivers on the empty mindless popcorn stuffing atmosphere that are the basic tropes of action movies. So in the end you're left with a movie that isn't tense and suspenseful enough to be "3 Days of the Condor" or "The Americans" and a movie that isn't as mindless action packed fun as James Bond. All the elements were there, but they never seemed to pull them off. It's like that old Native American saying, "if you chase two rabbits you'll lose them both." And that's really what happened here. it tried to be two different kinds of spy movie in one and never really made it into either. You're left wondering why you bothered. Had they picked one and went whole headlong for that goal, it could have been stellar. Instead it's luke warm at best.

The movie wasn't that good. It does have a lot of action though. Some pretty sweet fight scenes too.

<em>'Atomic Blonde'</em> entertains! A very stylish action-packed 115 minutes. Loved watching Charlize Theron in the lead role, a great performance from her. The whole cast are very good, though James McAvoy and Sofia Boutella stood out most to me. Some of the dialogue could've been better, while the story does get a bit overly entwined. Still, there is no doubt that I had fun with this 2017 flick; which was David Leitch's official directorial debut. I've seen all five movies of his now and I've enjoyed all of them, albeit to varying degrees. <em>'Bullet Train'</em> is definitely my favourite! 🚆