“So um I got to go to another movie premiere. Crazy, right? Why didn’t I move to LA sooner?
Yeah so I got an email invite from one of the many relevant email lists I’m on for the Atomic Blonde premiere at the Ace Hotel downtown, so of course I jumped on it. As per usual, I was there super early in case of a sell out, so when I got in, I had some time to explore a bit. Dang, the place was swanky. They set it up to look like the type of 80s night club our heroine blonde may be seen in, complete with lighting and killer 80s dance playlist. There were several levels to the place, each filled with free booze and popcorn. Totally set the right mood for the movie.
Alas, no fun celeb encounters this time. I tried sitting in the lobby by the entrance on the red carpet side for a while, but they ushered us to our seats far too early (srsly, the “”Please take your seats, the show is about to begin”” went on for 45 minutes, 30 of which were after the scheduled start time). By the end, I was too tired and cold (the auditorium was freezing) to wanna hang around. Plus the place was rather massive and full of people, so the odds of catching anyone cool were slim. Charlize Theron and director David Leitch did take the stage at the beginning to intro the film, so that was cool.
For the movie itself, I wanted so badly to love it. I really liked it, but it wasn’t love. The big draw were the action sequences, brought to you by the original other half of the John Wick team. Chick John Wick?! Yes please! And yes, the action was incredible, and Charlize was amazing at them. The choreography was great, and I loved how it played well with the 80’s soundtrack (so now it’s John Wick + Wonder Woman + Baby Driver).
Unfortunately, the scenes in between all the action left a lot to be desired. Most of them were very slow, and even confusing at times. It was kind of a MacGuffin-esque spy story we’ve seen before, and it didn’t offer anything new. Add in that freezing auditorium, and I was just over it.
Still, action lovers, check this one out. That alone is worth seeing it for. It occurs to me that the first John Wick did have some similar structural issues, so hopefully our kick ass spy chick can come back again with a more polished film and take over the world. That I would be completely in favor of
Atomic Blonde – \m/ \m/ \m/”