The purple-blue neon tones, a la John Wick, are back with David Leitch’s latest entry in his series of hyper-stylized actions flicks.

Charlize Theron plays Lorraine Broughton, a vodka guzzling, chain-smoking M16 agent on a mission to find a list containing the names of KGB double agents on the night of the collapse of the Berlin Wall… at least I think?? If I’m being straight up, the story gets kind of muddled before it gets a chance to really get off the ground but let’s face it, that’s not what you came here for.

Sometimes it’s all in the title folks… Atomic Blonde… no it’s not a Cold War period piece, and not for one second does it pretend to care about the actual events of that day in November 1989. What it is is slick, stylish, and moving to its own groove. I can also say that as far as filmmaking is concerned, it employed some challenging shooting techniques to breathtaking results.

Shooting methods, stylish colors and soundtrack aside, Charlize Theron and James McAvoy bring their A-game and breathe life into archetypes we’ve seen on the screen an umpteen amount of times. I mean seriously how many times have we seen the brooding secret agent or the opportunistic and dubious rogue spy? But Charlize Theron and James McAvoy bring a ferocity to these roles that somehow make them feel fresh and exciting to watch. All under the guise of David Leitch’s eye for style.

While the story isn’t perfect and damn near falls apart at the seams once you start to think about it for too long. Like John Wick, Atomic Blonde strives to be visual candy, and action caviar, often times succeeding at both. Leitch’s plots function as mere vehicles to support his lofty, and often times dancelike, fight choreography. Atomic Blonde is definitely a flex.