Atomic Blonde (Blu-ray) (2017) |
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Atomic Blonde (Blu-ray) (2017) |
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| BUY IT |
| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Action |
Audio Commentary-Director David Leitch & editor Elisabet Ronaldsdittir Deleted Scenes-Deleted / Extended Scenes x 6 (7:23) Featurette-Welcome to Berlin (4:33) Featurette-Blondes Have More Gun (7:01) Featurette-Spymaster (4:18) Featurette-Anatomy of a Fight Scene (7:52) Storyboard Comparisons-Story in Motion |
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| Year Of Production | 2017 | ||
| Running Time | 114:44 | ||
| RSDL / Flipper | Dual Layered | Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Ads Then Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 2,4 | Directed By | David Leitch |
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Studio
Distributor |
 Universal Pictures Home Video |
Starring |
Charlize Theron James McAvoy John Goodman Sofia Boutella Toby Jones James Faulkner Roland Miller Eddie Marsan |
| Case | Standard Blu-ray | ||
| RPI | ? | Music | Tyler Bates |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
English DTS-X 7.1 German DTS-X 7.1 French dts 5.1 Italian dts 5.1 English Descriptive Audio Dolby Digital 5.1 English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 |
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| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 2.40:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
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| Video Format | 1080p | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 2.35:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles |
English French German Italian Dutch |
Smoking | Yes, constantly |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | No | ||
"Trust No-one"
Berlin, 1989; MI6 agent Lorraine Broughton (Charlize Theron) is sent by her superiors Gray (Toby Jones) and “C” (James Faulkner) to the divided city to retrieve a vital list of clandestine operators that has been stolen by a rogue KGB agent, a list that also includes the name of a highly placed double agent in MI6. However, as soon as Lorraine arrives in Berlin she is identified as a British spy by the KGB led by Bremovych (Roland Miller); he is also hunting the list but is also looking for the East German Stasi officer codenamed Spyglass (Eddie Marsan) who had originally stolen the list and wants to defect to West Germany. Lorraine’s contact in Berlin is the MI6 Station Chief David Percival (James McAvoy), but it quickly becomes clear to Lorraine that he has his own agenda. Also watching Lorraine is the CIA operative Emmett Kurzfeld (John Goodman) and a mysterious female, Delphine Lasalle (Sofia Boutella). As the Berlin Wall falls, can Lorraine expose the traitor and complete her mission? Or, indeed, is she herself the double agent within MI6?
Atomic Blonde is based upon the graphic novel The Coldest City by Antony Johnston and Sam Hart. The film is directed by David Leitch, who was well known as a stuntman and stunt coordinator with 82 credits listed on the IMDb until he was uncredited co-director of the fabulous John Wick (2014). Leitch brings all his stunt skills and experience to Atomic Blonde which, without a doubt, is among the best action films of 2017. There is nothing graceful or ballet like about the fights; in the style of the Bourne films they are brutal and visceral with Theron using elbows, fists, feet and anything else that comes to hand including stovetops, fridge doors, a lamp, pots and a corkscrew to take down a succession of opponents. Theron proved to be a more than adequate action performer and she did many of her own fights allowing Leitch the luxury of longer takes focusing on his star. There is a lot of action in Atomic Blonde, including gun fights and car chases but two intense set pieces stand out; the first a fight in an apartment, the second a long sequence that goes up and down a stairwell and climaxes in close and bloody mayhem in a room that is heart in mouth stuff. Simply fabulous.
I have read reviews of Atomic Blonde which say that the film is engaging on the surface but empty in the centre and that it is style over substance. Quite frankly, I disagree totally. Certainly Atomic Blonde is stylish, with a manipulated, almost psychedelic colour palate with enhanced blues, greens, yellows and reds, jump cuts and interesting camera angles and a wonderful driving 1980s soundtrack with songs by the likes of David Bowie, whose Cat People (Putting Out the Fire With Gasoline) over the opening titles sets the tone of the film perfectly, New Order, Public Enemy and The Clash among others. Yet, Atomic Blonde is told in a non-linear manner and is also a thriller and a mystery, a film of duplicity, betrayals, twists, dissemination and murder, the Cold War setting in Berlin as the Wall comes down providing both a political context and a metaphor for the attitudes of many of the characters in the film.
In Atomic Blonde Charlize Theron shows that she can mix it with the best. Indeed, I would put Atomic Blonde right up there with the John Wick films or The Bourne Identity (2002) as action films, it is simply that good.
Atomic Blonde is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1, in 1080p using the MPEG-4 AVC code.
As noted, the film has a manipulated, almost psychedelic colour palate with enhanced blues, greens, yellows and reds. In addition, a number of scenes are quite monochrome and dark, such as the room in MI6 where Lorraine is being debriefed, where Theron’s blonde hair and light skin stand out, almost providing a 3D depth of field. Sometimes, due to lighting and colour choices, detail is soft but elsewhere detail is very strong, showing all the blood and bruises inflicted during the fights, blacks and shadow detail are pristine, skin tones fine and brightness and contrast consistent.
I did not notice any artefacts or marks.
Subtitles provided are English, French, Italian, German and Dutch. Cream / white English subtitles also automatically translate sections of German and Russian dialogue.
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Audio choices are English and German DTS: X (which is read as DTS-HD MA 7.1), French and Italian DTS 5.1 and English descriptive audio, Dolby Digital 2.0. The English commentary track is Dolby Digital 5.1.
I am not set up for 7.1 but the audio is still a doozy! The film is driven by the soundtrack of 80s songs by the likes of David Bowie, New Order, Public Enemy, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Depeche Mode, George Michael, Queen and The Clash that seldom lets up except during the action sequences which feature deep gunshots, bullet impacts and near misses, the thud of punches, kicks, impacts with a range of blunt utensils, fireworks, engines, car crashes and general mayhem, all nicely separated and rendered clearly. Elsewhere there are crowd voices, party noise and street sounds, providing an enveloping environment throughout the film. Dialogue was clear and the subwoofer added oomph to the music, impacts, crashes and fireworks. The score by Tyler Bates was heavy on percussion and electronica, which suits the feel of the film.
There are no lip synchronisation issues.
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There are mostly short EPK type featurettes, although a couple are not without interest.
Trailers for Cult of Chucky (0:56), American Made (2:29) and a promotion for 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray (1:07) play on start-up. They cannot be selected from the menu.
Six scenes are included, with sound but without music. Most would seem to have been cut for pacing purposes. The scenes are (there is a Play All option):
A brief and superficial discussion about Berlin in the 1980s, the colour palate of the film and shooting in Budapest for Berlin. A lot of film footage and tiny interview sound bites with the director, 5 cast members, 3 producers, the production designer and Antony Johnston, co-writer of The Coldest City.
This covers Charlize Theron; what interested her in the part, the character, her training and preparation for the stunts and the action in general. There is some training and stunt rehearsal footage and film footage plus comments by the director, stunt coordinator, producer and various cast members.
Director David Leitch’s vision and working methods.
The best of these featurettes. The great action sequence that starts on the stairs is shown but with a split screen which shows on-set and rehearsal footage plus comments by director David Leitch.
Two storyboarded sequences that can be viewed with or without commentary by director David Leitch. The two are:
Director David Leitch and editor Elisabet Ronaldsdottir sit together and watch the film. They have a good rapport, laugh a lot and say “I love this . . .” frequently. They seldom talk about the shoot itself but do talk about changes that were made in post while editing and ADR looping and pick-ups and they also mention practical effects, where greenscreen and CGI was used, the cast, the design of the film, locations and the cast. Not the best, nor the worst, audio commentary.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
This Australian release of Atomic Blonde is the same as the Region A US version except for some subtitle options. Buy local.
In a time of so many CGI heavy action films I had a blast with Atomic Blonde. It has a dry sense of humour, non-linear storytelling, Charlize Theron in great form, mystery, double-crossings, brutal, intense and realistic action and a killer soundtrack; any film with David Bowie’s Cat People (Putting Out the Fire With Gasoline) over the opening titles gets my vote straight away! Atomic Blonde is not only a fabulous action film, it is a very good spy thriller, period!
The video and audio are great. The extras are decent.
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| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Sony BDP-S580, using HDMI output |
| Display | LG 55inch HD LCD. This display device has not been calibrated. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p. |
| Audio Decoder | NAD T737. This audio decoder/receiver has not been calibrated. |
| Amplification | NAD T737 |
| Speakers | Studio Acoustics 5.1 |