Movie Review: Atomic Blonde [SPOILERS]

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I wanted to see Atomic Blonde because I thought it would be an awesome female spy kick-ass movie like Angelina Jolie's Salt. It kind of was...but it kind of wasn't. Rather than feeling empowered, I felt like I couldn't decide whether she was the hero or the victim. I couldn't even tell you if she was a good guy or a bad guy throughout the movie (the same goes for most of the characters, actually). It's just that, during half the movie, you have to see Charlize Theron look like this:

The film focuses on the violence between the east and west before the Berlin Wall fell. There are tons of fight scenes, each of which includes several cringe-worthy moments (such as crotch kicks and using keys, a skateboard, and a cork screw as weapons). Spies from the CIA, KGB, and MI6 are all trying to get their hands on a watch that contains information about agents from around the world (mostly bad things about them, and they don't want that information to get out there). These spies are fighting and killing each other left and right, and backstabbing even their own fellow teammates (actual knives in backs). Here are some snippets:

The only "happy" scene in the movie was a gratuitous lesbian sex scene, which normally I'd think was hot, especially with Theron, but I was too disturbed at that point to enjoy it.

My favorite part of the movie was the 80's soundtrack. I'd suggest listening to that instead of watching this disconcerting and troublesome film. You can hear the whole thing here.

*All GIFs from giphy.com.