Spy movies are always and adventure. Fast, physical and somewhat elegant. Atomic Blonde is the adventure of an MI6 agent sent to Berlin to retrieve the bodies of two murdered agents as a front for actually continuing their assignments to retrieve a damaging list of international double agents. The film is set in 1989 in the midst of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Story: I will concede that this film is hard to follow. Fun to watch, but, hard to follow. It was adapted for the screen from the graphic novel by Antony Johnston and Sam Hart called The Coldest City.

The story itself was not so compelling. In fact, the central character, is the number one mystery. In the end, we find out her true allegiance, (or do we) but along the way, we get several different characters. I’m willing to chalk that up as part of the story’s intrigue, but, I think it could have been developed better.

Performances: Charlize Theron is the central character, Lorraine Broughton…. James McAvoy is David Percival, MI6 Berlin station chief… John Goodman is an American CIA agent working with MI6 to retrieve the list and Sofia Boutella is a French agent in Berlin on the fringe of the hunt, who ends up being the central character’s lover. Whew…

Charlize Theron offers a commendable performance in a demanding, physical role generally reserved for a man. She shows that a woman can be trained as an operative and be just as effective. James McAvoy gets the next most screen time and is more eccentric than operative, but, definitely entertaining. I don’t think the Oscars will be calling, but again, fun to watch…

Visual: This is an elegant film. Because it’s set in 1989, the wardrobe is critical. The costumes are spot on, but more than the look of the film, I have to take this opportunity to call out the soundtrack. The music is as much a character in this film as Charlize Theron and James McAvoy. If you were of music appreciation age in 1989, you will have a walk down memory lane…

Rating: Atomic Blonde gets a B-. The action scenes and the music make the movie. I’ve read some other reviews that criticized the writing and the pacing. I have to agree with that. This is a film for that moment when you just want to see a good, quality European action adventure – not an American action adventure… There’s a difference.

There’s also been talk of Atomic Blonde turning into a franchise like the Bourne series or even John Wick. I hope that happens and it gives the writers and producers a chance to work out the kinks in this story and character. It has the potential…