Pride Month Movie - Day Thirteen: Atomic Blonde (2017)

Atomic Blonde (2017)

Directed by David Leitch

Screenplay by Kurt Johnstad

Based on the graphic novel series, "The Coldest City" written by Antony Johnston and illustrations by Sam Hart

Stars: Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, Sofia Boutella, Eddie Marsan, John Goodman, Toby Jones, James Faulkner, Roland Møller, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, and Til Schweiger

I saw the trailer for this movie years ago. It wasn't on my radar to watch. Then, it was revealed that there were some sapphic scenes. Yes, there were.

The action takes place at the end of the Cold War in West Berlin. An undercover agent, Lorraine (Theron) is being interrogated by her superiors, Gray and Kurzfeld (Jones, Goodman) about a mission that went wrong. She was trying to secure a list of undercover agents from getting in the hands of the Soviets.

When I was watching this, I kept thinking about Wanted. A similar movie with James McAvoy in it, except this time it's agents, not assassins. The positives. The soundtrack was very good. Enjoyed the songs that were peppered throughout. The action sequences were visceral, brutal and well done. If you have seen this movie, do you notice the bi flag color scheme in Lorraine's room? 

The negatives. The plot of the movie was very generic. I knew the "twist" of the movie thirty minutes before it was revealed. I believe interrogation scenes are a hit and miss with me, especially in an action movie. There is no tension or stakes, because you know that this person survives at the end.

Rating: 6.5/10

Prometheus

Prometheus (2012)

Directed by Ridley Scott

Screenplay by Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof

Based on elements created by Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett

Stars: Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Guy Pearce, Logan Marshall-Green, Kate Dickie, Sean Harris and Rafe Spall

There was some hesitance in watching Prometheus, because of the polarizing response when it came out. Is it prequel to the Alien series? Is it a one off movie in the Alien universe? People loving the movie, but they have major gripes with it. I thought that I was going to hate the film. Not knowing the Alien canon might work in my favor this time.

2089. A pair of archaeologists, Dr. Elizabeth Shaw (Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Marshall-Green) discovers ancient cave drawings that predate the traditional cave men. It points to a particular star system that is light years away from Earth.

An exploration commences three years later on the spaceship, Prometheus to that very star system. The Weyland Corporation funded the effort to find out of the origins of humanity. The archaeologists as well the cyborg, David (Fassbender), Fifield (Harris), Millburn (Spall) and Ford (Dickie) explore a cavernous ruin that might hold the key to origin of humanity. These explorers might be in over their heads.

Let me just say that I have only seen Alien³ and Alien: Resurrection in its entirety. The other movies have only bits and pieces were seen. Ridley Scott told us that this is not in the vein of the other movies. I cannot explicitly say whether it is or not. I enjoyed this movie very much. If I came into the movie knowing the Alien canon, I might pick the film apart. I might have to revisit the quadrilogy. My opinion might change.

The concept of film has been done in many movies before about exploring alien worlds without knowing the consequences of interrupting the environment. The scope of the film was fascinating the watch. Marc Streitenfeld's score carried weight.

The story went into some unexpected places that made me questions the intentions of everyone on board the ship. I throughly enjoyed Michael Fassbender's performance as David. He plays a being that shows no emotions, but he gives lots of human emotions subtly.

My Rating