I Watch Films: Atomic Blonde

Take a standard action spy thriller. Place it in Berlin, November 1989. Make the music and lighting really, really good. Swap out our generic dude protagonist with Charlise Theron.

That’s Atomic Blonde, which has all the regular things you’d expect from the genre – iconic costumes, fight scene with a gimmick, long (probably not really) one-shot action scene, the hero going to bed with the female agent, one more twist and turn than you expect, everyone dubiously betraying everyone else – all done pretty well.

I sound like I’m down on the film, and I’m not, it’s great fun, it lifts itself head and shoulders above the competition with the setting and by placing Theron into the protagonist role, and there’s even a couple of good jokes. What it isn’t is especially innovative or smart. It’s cynical and clever, and that’s what spy films are.

Watch This: For a competent and extremely cool spy film
Don’t Watch This: If you prefer cleverness over violence in your espionage movies