The Coldest City, Antony Johnston and Sam Hart’s graphic novel about the dangerous world of espionage, has been simmering on the back-burner ever since Charlize Theron swooped in to acquire the screen rights a few years back. That’s hardly surprising, either, given the actress’ busy, busy schedule, but we’re now only a few weeks away from welcoming Johnston and Hart’s Cold War thriller onto the big screen in the form of Atomic Blonde.
Universal has been busy promoting the release off the back of extremely positive reviews coming out of SXSW, and their campaign continues apace today with a brand new clip for David Leitch’s spy thriller, in which Theron’s best-in-class MI6 agent can be seen kicking ass in all kinds of brutal ways. And we use the term ‘kicking ass’ quite lightly.
Lifted from the pages of graphic novel The Coldest City – Leitch’s adaptation was originally tethered to the same name, before the studio decided to change things up – Atomic Blonde opens in the year 1989, just prior to the moment when Germany tore down the Berlin Wall after 28 years of segregation. The city is in a state of political and social change, and when a top-secret dossier containing the names of double agents falls into the wrong hands, it’s up to Theron’s no-nonsense badass to wade through a web of espionage in order to locate that sensitive information before it’s too late.
From the footage we’ve seen so far, David Leitch’s direction – coupled with the super-sleek cinematography by Jonathan Sela – looks set to elevate the blockbuster above mediocrity. The spirit of John Wick lives on through some of the action scenes on display and the neon-drenched visuals bring Berlin to life in a way that’s hauntingly beautiful. Plus, if one thing’s for certain, it’s that Leitch hasn’t lost his knack for mesmerizing fight sequences.
Sofia Boutella, James McAvoy, John Goodman, Eddie Marsan, and Toby Jones are among the ensemble cast in Atomic Blonde, and you can expect Leitch’s super-slick actioner to open in theaters on July 28th.