Atomic Blonde - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Atomic Blonde

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
The good old 80s. The time that brought us the Rambo series, Lethal Weapon, Die Hard and countless other action movies. Well, that and the cold war, of course, which is right where Atomic Blonde drops us into with cheeky grace. Spy stories were once a dime a dozen, but now seem to have faded for the more obligatory action films that graced the 80s (just without the style and flair), but there are a few that have managed to keep going. 007 and his ilk are still going strong, but an ACTUAL spy movie, with intrigue, double cross, backstabbing bosses, and more double blinds than you could shake a stick at are few and far between. The trailer for Atomic Blonde promised us a hybrid between James Bond and John Wick, but what we got was more like Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and some James Bond style action as icing rather than the balls to the walls action movie that the trailer seemed to be promoting. Going in with those expectations might shock the average viewer, and while the action is the highlight of the film, Charlize Theron manages to give us a decent spy thriller as well, albeit a bit thin in the plot department.

The place, Berlin. The time, 1989. The cold war has been going on for years, but we’re at a crucial point where the wall is being torn down in a weeks time. However, the spy game is still going strong between the adversaries, and a list of agents and double agents has been stolen from an MI-6 operative in Berlin by a Russian agent. A list that holds enough information on it to extend the cold war by up to four decades if it fell into the wrong hands. Naturally, MI-6 and the CIA don’t want this to happen, so they send MI-6 operative Lorraine Broughton (Charlize Theron) into Berlin to acquire the list and neutralize the Russian operative. Her only contact is David Percival (James MacAvoy), a deep cover agent who seems to have gone more native than most realize.

Once in place Lorriane finds out that things are a bit more complicated than she expected. Percival can’t seem to come up with the list (although there’s more to this than meets the eye), she finds an ally in a naive French agent by the name of Delphine Lasalle (Sophia Boutella) which ends in a bit more than just a friendly handshake (yes, this is the famous “girl on girl” scene that the trailer hinted at, which actually turns out to be one of the most forced scenes in the movie, outing 300 for the most unintentionally hilarious sex scenes of all times) AND Lorraine has to figure out a way to get the double agent who brought her the list out of Berlin as well. All while trying to stay alive and route out a double agent of their own who goes by the code name “Satchel”.

Atomic Blonde is the junk food of the spy genre. It has a sweet exterior, and one that is enticing and appealing with a killer 80s remix track (a track that pretty much acts as the pulse for the film), a wildly invigorating round of action, but underneath its rather hollow and devoid of any substance. Once you get past the different variations of “99 Luft Balloons” and other German 80s songs that were brought to the U.S. it becomes clear that there’s not a whole lot behind the (iron) curtain. Guns, knives, Charlize Theron kicking some butt in wholly unrealistic ways, and then the general trappings of a spy story. You can’t trust anyone, they’re just going to try and stab you in the back, and NO ONE is who they seem (even your superiors). Rinse and repeat until the final credits.

The movie revels in its graphic novel origins (based off of the story The Coldest City) with a mildly stylized theme that uses cool blues and a spray paint style annotation style to hint to the audience that we’re watching something that’s not completely serious. The color is pulled from the picture for a majority of the time, and it’s used effectively to create a cold and bleak city that features a seedy underbelly to it quite nicely. I did really like how Charlize was portrayed as kind of a female bond (in personality more than anything), the ironically womanizing, cold hearted, steely eyed heroine. But the execution is a bit choppy and we go through hi and low points of the movie enough times that I did get a bit frustrated with it at times. It’s still fun, but definitely MUCH different than what the trailer portrayed.




Rating:

Rated R for sequences of strong violence, language throughout, and some sexuality/nudity



Video:

As I said in the Blu-ray review, Atomic Blonde is shot on Arri Alexa digital cameras and was captured and mastered at 2K resolution for home video, but gives a modest upgrade over the 1080p Blu-ray disc. The film is a dull and flat for shiny colors (despite some uses of neon shades throughout the film) which keeps the HDR and Dolby Vision (Dolby Vision not able to be reviewed as YET as AV NIRVANA is still deciding on which 4K UHD player to accommodate DV in our reviews) from really “popping” off the screen like it usually does. Textures are very nice, and show a nice little upgrade over the before mentioned Blu-ray in subtle little ways. Facial textures and little bits of fine detail are cleaner on the face, as well as black levels that got rid of the banding inherent in the 1080p disc. A nice 4K presentation, Atomic Blonde won’t blow you away, but it is a stable and representative presentation of the stylized source material.





Audio:

Universal always includes the Atmos or DTS:X track on BOTH the Blu-ray and 4K UHD, so this analysis will be identical between the two reviews. Atomic Blonde’s high energy DTS:X track is raucous, rambunctious, and highly engaging from beginning to end, blending a mixture of slow and measured dialog driven experiences, with the pulsating sounds of the 80s infused score that plays non stop throughout the film. We have everything from Nena Cherry, David Bowie, and Queen all the way to Kanye West and a strange club remix of certain popular 80s songs right around the time of the cold war ending. The music acts as the pulse of the film, changing and adapting depending on the mood of the movie at the time. Action is highly encompassing, with bullets and smashing surroundings coming through loud and clear, while the more dialog driven moments simmer down and allow the soft vocals to come through cleanly. LFE is pounding and impressive, adding weight and intensity to the car crashes and fist fights the litter the 2 hour film.




Extras:

• Deleted/Extended Scenes
• Welcome to Berlin – The ultimate setting for a Cold War spy thriller, Berlin becomes a character of its own. Go behind the wall for this making-off.
• Blondes Have More Gun – Lorraine Broughton has one impressive set of skills. See what it took for Charlize Theron to fully transform herself into this tenacious character.
• Spymaster – David Leitch spins the spy genre on its head through exemplary action sequences and complex characters. Hear from cast and crew what it was like to work with this cutting edge director.
• Anatomy of a Fight Scene – Director David Leitch breaks down the incredibly detailed long-take stairwell shot in this anatomy of a fight scene.
• Story in Motion: Agent Broughton – See Agent Broughton as you never have before in these motion storyboards.
• Story in Motion: The Chase – Gascoigne is on the run. Find out who's after him in this motion storyboard.
• Feature Audio Commentary with Director David Leitch and Editor Elisabet Ronaldsdottir

Final Score: ​

Atomic Blonde is an interesting film that won’t appeal to everyone. The film is high on action throughout, and has a gritty stylized vibe that is unique and appealing, but I can also see why some mind find it a bit dull and devoid of much narrative juice as well. The film seems to be mostly about Charlize Theron kicking butt with a killer score, and the narrative muscle that is present is fairly cookie cutter for one of those “never trust anyone” type of spy thrillers that constantly double backs on itself. It’s one of those movies where you have to pick and choose what you like, as the movie is neither fantastic nor a bad film either. Just a fun action romp that has some distinct flaws as well. The 4K UHD from Universal looks good and sounds amazing, and actually has a decent array of extras to go along with the disc. The differences between the 4K UHD and the Blu-ray are subtle, but still noticeable enough to have me leaning towards the 4K if you have the equipment. Definitely worth checking out if the trailer peaks your interest.




Technical Specifications:

Starring: Charlize Theron, James MacAvoy, John Goodman
Directed by: David Leitch
Written by: Kurt Johnstad (Screenplay), Antony Johnston (Graphic Novel)
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: DTS:X (DTS-HD MA 7.1 Core), Spanish, French, Portuguese DTS 5.1
Studio: Universal
Rated: R
Runtime: 115 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: November 14th, 2017

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Worth a Watch

 

[Todd Anderson]

Nice review, Mike. I'm in on this one... just the kind of flick I enjoy losing a few hours to!