Atomic Blonde

This movie probably never would have been made if it had not been pitched with the word "blonde" in the title. Hollywood, of all places, knows what sells. (The source material's title is "The Coldest City." Go figure.) So does this flick achieve such golden status as its title wants to suggest? Well, the story is a muddle, but that may not really be a problem, since this film is clearly an exercise in trying to recreate pre-Achtung Baby Berlin to its greatest degree. How much it succeeds is a matter of speculation, as few of us were actually there and can make a comparison. A lot of the clothing and stylistic touches--for instance, neon lighting in peoples' apartments--look about right for the late '80s, although the music choices are ham-handed (many of the songs, though authentically '80s and some even quite good, had long since fallen out of rotation by 1989). Mostly, this movie is an excuse to see Charlize Theron beat the tar out of people. On that front, she acquits well, and the filmmakers deserve credit for making the violence legit and not creating some stylized, "fight ballet" stuff like we've seen a lot lately. All in all, it's OK--not great or necessary, but hardly the sort of thing anyone would really clamor for (certainly not for a sequel).