Atomic Blonde
Focus Features | Release Date: July 28, 2017 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
63
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 50 Critic Reviews
Positive:
32
Mixed:
17
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
ObserverThelma AdamsAug 3, 2017
For repeated breathless sequences involving hand-to-hand combat, assassination attempts, and a wicked climactic car chase, shout out to Director Leitch. Read full review
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzJul 27, 2017
Atomic Blonde is bold, brazen and frequently bonkers. But it’s also killer. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperJul 26, 2017
Punch kick stab shoot. Borrow from “Bourne” and Bond. Rinse and repeat. This is the recipe for the quite ridiculous, ultra-violent and deliriously entertaining Atomic Blonde. Read full review
80
CineVueChristopher MachellAug 24, 2017
A little overlong and lacking the thematic clout to justify its knotty plot, Atomic Blonde is nevertheless an exhilarating, visceral actioner, more than making up for its flaws with a surfeit of verve and style. Read full review
80
Total FilmMatt MaytumAug 7, 2017
Theron is totally badass in a relentless thriller that never takes its foot off the gas. Bold and brash, with some of the year’s most bruising fight scenes. Read full review
80
TimeStephanie ZacharekJul 27, 2017
Glowering from beneath the bangs of her moonbeam-platinum bob, Theron’s Broughton is equal parts air, light and iron. We’re just the moths clustering around her flame. Read full review
80
ScreenCrushBritt HayesMar 15, 2017
Charlize Theron is the hero we need right now: As devilishly self-serving and smooth as Bond, as physically dynamic and stoic as Wick, Lorraine is confidently equipped to join the legacy of great movie action heroes and she doesn’t need your permission to do it. Read full review
78
IGNAlex WelchJul 24, 2017
Atomic Blonde is one of the best action films of the year. Read full review
75
New York PostSara StewartJul 27, 2017
Based on the graphic novel “The Coldest City,” this film keeps its comic-book aesthetic front and center. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliJul 27, 2017
The result, while at times a little too visually chaotic, is bracing. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyJul 27, 2017
The pounding ’80s soundtrack (New Order, Depeche Mode, Ministry) couldn’t be cooler, the ultraviolence is relentlessly brutal, and Theron’s guns-and-garters wardrobe is sexy as hell. So it’s a shame that apart from the gender flip, the plot is so derivative. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter TraversJul 26, 2017
Theron, in the middle of her action-hero phase and at her "Mad Max: Fury Road" best here, just nails it. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy BurrJul 26, 2017
It’s film noir meets Jason Bourne with a dash of John le Carré, and its chief claim to your attention is our reigning lady badass at its center. Read full review
75
The Film StageConor O'DonnellJul 26, 2017
The cracked joints and blunt force trauma are where Atomic Blonde excels. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen JohnsonJul 26, 2017
A mostly fabulous, though thinly plotted, ode to the glories of hand-to-hand combat, Euro ’80s music and the good/bad old days of the Cold War. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comSimon AbramsJul 26, 2017
Without Charlize Theron, the spy adventure Atomic Blonde would only be clever. She makes it insightful. The actress gives emotional depth to the highly mannered behavior of the film’s heroine. Read full review
75
The VergeRoss MillerMar 16, 2017
Though the film adamantly favors style over substance, there’s more than enough style in every scene to make the film work, thanks in no small part to lush visuals, smart choreography, and extreme commitment on the part of Theron. Read full review
75
IndieWireEric KohnMar 13, 2017
Oscillating between the relentless energy of “John Wick” and the dense plotting of a John Le Carré novel, Atomic Blonde never quite finds a happy medium between the two. But when Theron goes back to kicking ass, nothing else matters. Read full review
75
ConsequenceMichael RoffmanMar 13, 2017
When you’re not shaking your head at Theron’s glass-crunching gymnastics, you’re probably soaking up Leitch’s emerald-lensed atmospheres, Luhrmann-esque set pieces, and the sensual lighting that could give Nicolas Winding Refn a seizure or two. That’s all without saying a single thing about its fabulous soundtrack. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangJul 27, 2017
Atomic Blonde may be a delirious exercise in outré nonsense, but it can also be a brutally effective action picture when the inspiration strikes. Read full review
70
VoxEmily VanDerWerffJul 27, 2017
Director David Leitch is a little too nonchalant about the gigantic pile of corpses his heroine leaves in her wake. But damned if it doesn’t look cool as hell. And sometimes in life...all you want is something that looks super awesome, regardless of whether it makes any sense. Atomic Blonde manages that trick in spades. Read full review
70
We Got This CoveredMatt DonatoMar 13, 2017
Atomic Blonde strikes a deafening blow thanks to enjoyable characters, furious fight-play and Charlize Theron’s brand of screen command. She’s always in control, whether toying with feminine wilds or slugging another glass of Stoli on the rocks. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeMar 13, 2017
It's no rival for le Carré when it comes to the old cross/double-cross stuff; but a surfeit of style and a tasty supporting turn by James McAvoy help fill the time between fight scenes, which — this being a film by the stuntman/codirector behind John Wick — are pretty much the whole point. Read full review
67
Paste MagazineWill LeitchAug 3, 2017
You won’t find much of this particularly new or enlightening. It’s a little surprising, considering how much thought Leitch (no relation, by the way) has put into the action sequences, how perfunctory and even lackadaisical the rest of the film is. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyJul 26, 2017
This can be pretty fun, but also tiring in stretches; Leitch’s fetishistic interest in clothes, scar tissue, furniture, and different shades of mood lighting and lens flare gives some of the action-less portions of Atomic Blonde a glazed-over, narcotic pace. Read full review
63
The Seattle TimesMoira MacdonaldJul 27, 2017
While it’s still an enjoyable novelty to spend time during an action movie wondering where I could buy the hero’s boots, it’s no substitute for a good story. Read full review
63
USA TodayBrian TruittJul 27, 2017
Take out the cool retro tunes, neon everything and the formidable woman of action, and Atomic Blonde tends more bland than Bond. Read full review
63
St. Louis Post-DispatchCalvin WilsonJul 27, 2017
A stylish but empty spy flick, redeemed only by well-executed action sequences. Read full review
63
Philadelphia Daily NewsGary ThompsonJul 26, 2017
Atomic Blonde is what fans of the Clash used to call a poser. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneKatie WalshJul 26, 2017
It's a shame, because Atomic Blonde is a visual cinematic delight. It's not that it's all style, no substance. But it doesn't seem to know what to do with its substance, and ultimately, Atomic Blonde becomes a film that's all dressed up with just nowhere to go. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreJul 25, 2017
Stuntman (“Fight Club,””300”) turned director (he had a hand in “John Wick”) David Leitch proves he was the right guy for the job with every furious blast of onscreen mayhem. Read full review
62
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeJul 27, 2017
Based on the best moments of Atomic Blonde, I would very much like to see a series of films in which Charlize Theron’s ruthless, brutal and glamorous secret agent dispatches a variety of Cold War-era enemies to the accompaniment of hit songs from the 80s. Read full review
60
The TelegraphTim RobeyAug 3, 2017
The crazy surfeit of style can only go so far to compensate for the story, which is well-nigh impossible to care about. Read full review
60
EmpireHelen O'HaraAug 3, 2017
It’s cool and brutal, but with such impressive action credentials you almost wish there were fewer plot devices to distract you as Charlize gets up and at ’em. Read full review
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinJul 29, 2017
You don’t go to operas for dancing or ballets for singing, and you don’t see Atomic Blonde for anything but a badass female protagonist crunching bones and pulping faces in gratifyingly long takes or remarkable simulations thereof. The auteur here is literally the stunt man. Read full review
60
Time OutTomris LafflyJul 28, 2017
While it’s not a perfect female-centric spy thriller (let’s keep trying), Atomic Blonde winks to the future with exciting possibilities. Read full review
60
Village VoiceMelissa AndersonJul 27, 2017
The most coherent moments of the simultaneously byzantine and dumb Atomic Blonde are its nimbly choreographed fight scenes, episodes that best show off the aloof appeal of Theron. Read full review
60
Arizona RepublicBarbara VanDenburghJul 27, 2017
No, Atomic Blonde isn’t lacking in sex appeal or swagger. But what it is in want of are stakes. Read full review
60
The New York TimesManohla DargisJul 27, 2017
As she does, Ms. Theron locks down your attention immediately, holding you with her beauty and quiet vigilance. Read full review
60
Screen DailyTim GriersonJul 26, 2017
Despite a smorgasbord of high-octane action filmmaking, its thimble-deep characters and strained political commentary repeatedly stall what should be a wonderfully trashy shoot-‘em-up. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsStephen Whitty Jul 25, 2017
To its credit, even the film realizes how ridiculous it is. After one over-the-top hand-to-hand bout, Lorraine and her Boris Badenov opponent are left literally punch-drunk, swinging wild like a couple of stumblebums. Read full review
60
VarietyAndrew BarkerMar 13, 2017
Virtuosic kick-ass filmmaking can be its own reward, but to paraphrase “Idiocracy,” you still need to care about whose ass it is, and why it’s being kicked. Read full review
58
The PlaylistErik ChildressMar 15, 2017
When even momentary flourishes of action this good remind us how poorly filmed and choreographed most modern action films are, it is hard not to recommend Atomic Blonde on that basis alone. Read full review
50
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallJul 27, 2017
Atomic Blonde is a rare case of a woman toplining an action flick, but it hardly feels revolutionary. Read full review
50
SlateDana StevensJul 27, 2017
The particular kind of “fun” to be found in a slick and shallow spy fantasy like Atomic Blonde feels peculiarly arid in a moment as desperate for substance and meaning as our own. Read full review
50
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanJul 27, 2017
Ultimately, Atomic Blonde is, like its heroine, something of a machine. Lit by glowing neon, fueled by the rhythm of ’80s power pop and fashioned from stiletto heels, cigarettes, guns and sunglasses, it looks and sounds good, but it isn’t much of a conversationalist. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenJul 26, 2017
Here, watching Theron is just about the whole show, and to the film’s credit, this is usually a mesmerizing rather than crass experience. Read full review
50
The New YorkerRichard BrodyJul 26, 2017
The film strains to achieve a breathless panache and a lurid swagger for which David Leitch’s direction is too heavy-footed and literal. Read full review
40
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternJul 27, 2017
The story is impenetrable, with more betrayals than you can give a damn about, and the frigid tone borders on self-parody, with frequent excursions to the wrong side of the border. As strong and formidable and commandingly tall as Ms. Theron is, she can’t rise above the gloom. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineJake ColeJul 26, 2017
The tediously forestalled twists suck away time from what should be the film's focus—its action—and leaves only two scenes worthy of celebration. Read full review
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