The fight on the staircase, a single take that lasts several minutes, is a particular highlight. It draws humour from the violence, too, and James McAvoy is having a ball as an unhinged operative.

| May 11, 2024

Leitch’s film lacks zip, zilch, and zero in the style department.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 14, 2022

The talented cast and formal technique feel trampled by the overstylized and undermotivated narrative.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Mar 23, 2022

A textbook example of style over substance.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 29, 2021

A delightfully swift film that pays no credence to past grey depictions of the Eastern Bloc. Instead, it insists that every hotel room be bathed in neon and every rain-streaked window should be smashed by a white-blonde Theron crashing through it.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Sep 2, 2021

Atomic Blonde is another movie largely defined by its cool-as-ice characters, its action-packed set-pieces, and its awesome mix tape of classic tunes readily available for iTunes download.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 10, 2021

Visually it's this smash-up of Argento and Refn with the long-take swagger of Cuaron and the bottomless sleaze of Verhoeven ladled liberally over top

| Jul 2, 2021

Atomic Blonde has so much kick-ass action you will be begging for studios to start working on a sequel.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 15, 2021

A violent, arty spy flick that doesn't just open the door for Charlize Theron to create an effective spy franchise; it kicks it off its hinges.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 28, 2021

Atomic Blonde may be a throwback to the Cold War but let's hope it's the future of action cinema.

| Dec 12, 2020

The stunts may look convincing and heavy-hitting, but the violence is severe and mean-spirited; there's little fun to be found in the gritty way the mayhem is portrayed.

| Original Score: 4/10 | Dec 5, 2020

Not a perfect spy flick, but I'd be up for more Atomic Blonde movies.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Nov 5, 2020

Atomic Blonde skates by on its moments of intensity; just don't expect to be quite so titillated in the moments between the punches and gunfire.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 25, 2020

Atomic Blonde shows its cards quickly.

| Original Score: 2.5/4.0 | Sep 2, 2020

But the film's strong emphasis on the fight scenes and its creative use of music means the plot doesn't get the necessary reinforcement it boldly deserves.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 26, 2020

When "Atomic Blonde" hits, it hits with ferocity, driving home that Charlize Theron should be the biggest action star in the world and David Leitch has action chops for days.

| Original Score: B | Jul 1, 2020

Atomic Blonde falls squarely in the middle between James Bond and John Wick, bringing the exciting spy chase of the former while upping the violence level, but not quite reaching that of the latter.

| Jun 29, 2020

I'm here for more of these kind of action movies.

| May 13, 2020

This movie was intense.

| May 13, 2020

There's no getting around that a great deal of this movie is tedious and predictable.

| May 12, 2020