November 1989. The Berlin Wall is days away from falling, and the Cold War is entering its chaotic final chapter. In this volatile atmosphere, an MI6 agent is murdered and a crucial list of every active undercover agent in the Soviet Union is stolen. If the list reaches the wrong hands, dozens of agents will be exposed and killed. MI6 sends their most lethal operative to retrieve it: Lorraine Broughton.

Broughton arrives in Berlin — a city where everyone is a spy, a double agent, or both — and links up with David Percival, the MI6 station chief whose years in Berlin have made him dangerously unpredictable. As Lorraine navigates a labyrinth of competing intelligence agencies — MI6, CIA, KGB, and French DGSE — she discovers that the true threat may come from within her own side. Trust is a currency that’s been devalued to nothing.

The film is structured as an interrogation, with Lorraine recounting the events to MI6 and CIA superiors after the mission, leaving the audience perpetually questioning what’s true and what’s fabrication. The action sequences are devastatingly brutal, particularly a legendary single-take stairwell fight that was executed in agonizing, realistic detail — no quick cuts, no hidden stunt doubles, just raw, exhausting combat. Atomic Blonde established Charlize Theron as one of cinema’s most credible action stars.

Director & Cast

Director: David Leitch — co-director of the original John Wick (uncredited) and a veteran stunt coordinator, Leitch brought the same commitment to visceral, realistic action.

Cast: Charlize Theron as Lorraine Broughton, James McAvoy as David Percival, John Goodman as Emmett Kurzfeld, Toby Jones as Eric Gray, Sofia Boutella as Delphine Lasalle, and Eddie Marsan as Spyglass.

Behind the Scenes

Charlize Theron trained for months and performed the vast majority of her fight sequences, suffering cracked teeth and bruised ribs during filming. The famous stairwell fight sequence took over a week to choreograph and film. The film’s neon-soaked visual style and 1980s new wave soundtrack (featuring Depeche Mode, David Bowie, and Nena) create a distinctive Cold War aesthetic unlike any other spy film.