With great action and music, Atomic Blonde is nothing like a female James Bond movie

We could probably generate a decent argument over who is the bigger female action star between Charlize Theron and Scarlett Johansson.

Johansson certainly has the showier roles, especially as Black Widow in Marvel’s Avengers franchise and this year’s Ghost in the Shell (though that film didn’t hit with audiences). But Theron became an icon as Imperator Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road, overshadowing Tom Hardy’s title character. And she broke into the boys club of the Fast and Furious movies earlier this year in The Fate of the Furious.

Really, the two are completely different actors, only having their gender in common. Johansson might have a better talent for comedy, especially in supporting roles, but doesn’t display a whole lot of range in her work. Theron, meanwhile, has often steered away from the headline roles, taking supporting parts that seem beneath her (such as A Million Ways to Die in the West as Seth McFarlane’s love interest), but not afraid to cut loose as the evil queen in the Huntsman films. Of course, Theron also has an Academy Award, transforming herself to play serial killer Aileen Wuornos in 2003’s Monster.

That should end any comparisons right there. Besides, the two are more than 10 years apart, so are bound to pursue and attract different roles. Yet there are very few female stars who can carry an action film, so it’s somewhat natural to compare the two.

It’s difficult to imagine Johansson playing Atomic Blonde‘s Lorraine Broughton, however. In her action roles, Johansson seems to take advantage of opponents underestimating her. There is nothing to underestimate about Broughton. Sure, adversaries and colleagues could be distracted by her beauty, especially since Theron’s height makes her such a presence in a room. But she makes it very clear from the start that she’s not to be messed with and knows exactly what she’s doing.

Since Broughton is a British spy for MI6 (though Theron doesn’t do well with her British accent), it’s easy to look at Atomic Blonde as a female James Bond movie. The urge to view it that way is more pronounced when the Bond franchise seems in need of a change-up, despite Daniel Craig’s great work as 007. Many want to see an actor of color like Idris Elba take the role. But making Bond a female agent would also be intriguing, something that fans, critics and producers have considered for years.

But Atomic Blonde isn’t anything like a James Bond movie. The settings and characters are much darker and grittier than the glamorized, jet-setting locales of a Bond film. We wouldn’t see Bond step foot in many of the dingy apartments and dark nightclubs Broughton visits during her mission. The objective is to pursue a double agent who’s been killing MI6 agents (including Broughton’s lover) for the KGB, but more importantly, recover a list of agents who are currently undercover in Russia.

What also sets this movie far apart is the action, which is much more brutal and nasty than we’d see in any Bond film. This British secret agent doesn’t depend on gadgets that have been made for her. Though Broughton is never overpowered like Bond has been by Oddjob or Jaws over the years, she doesn’t get out of any dangerous situations with a fancy watch or pen, or a tricked-out car. Her weapons are her fists, feet, whatever firearm is available to her and maybe a little bit of vodka.

Director David Leitch was one of the co-directors of John Wick and he’s brought that same level of hand-to-hand combat and gunplay to Atomic Blonde. The fights are tightly choreographed with Theron often battling multiple adversaries and having to use whatever’s on hand to gain some kind of advantage. Best of all, Leitch knows how to film action, moving in close when necessary but usually keeping a distance so the audience gets an idea of what’s happening in the fight and where everyone is in the room.

The centerpiece action scene takes place in an apartment building stairwell with Theron fighting off three or four Russian agents while trying to protect her asset (played by Eddie Marsan). Just because Broughton is a woman doesn’t mean the action isn’t any less nasty. Those agents are trying to kill her and she’s fighting for her life, shooting these guys, kicking out their knees and throwing them down the stairs. But since she fights hard, Broughton also takes a lot of damage herself. In a non-linear narrative, it’s somewhat jolting to see so many cuts and bruises on Theron’s face when she’s surveying the damage at one point.

Yet that’s also a key difference from the Bond films. We don’t often see the toll that such fighting takes on an operative. (Daniel Craig might sell that better than any of the previous Bonds, notably in Skyfall.) Besides seeing Theron’s bruised, battered face in front of a lighted mirror, there are two memorable scenes with Broughton recovering from a tussle in an ice bath. (Where does she get all those ice cubes? Or does she just completely empty the ice machine down the hall? Maybe MI6 has a connection to buckets of ice for their agents. They don’t get pens that shoot laser beams, but have access to all the ice they want.)

Accentuating the action is an outstanding soundtrack that plays off the setting of the film. Atomic Blonde takes place in 1989 with the Berlin Wall on the verge of collapse and the Cold War living out its final days. Leitch uses music to establish the scenery almost as much as the visuals. Even establishing shots or intermediary scenes are set to memorable songs from the era, like Nena’s “99 Luftballons,” ‘Til Tuesday’s “Voices Carry,” George Michael’s “Father Figure,” Der Kommissar’s “After the Fire,” and Ministry’s “Stigmata.”

For those who grew up during that era and have deep affection for that music, the soundtrack is just as thrilling as any fight scene in this movie. Theron has never looked sexier than when walking into a nightclub while Re-Flex’s “The Politics of Dancing” plays over the room. And as soon as the movie ends, you might be going through your phone to look for these songs or upload them from your music collection once you get home.

Despite the fantastic and soundtrack, however, Atomic Blonde isn’t quite as good as maybe it could have been. I didn’t read the source graphic novel, 2012’s The Coldest City by Antony Johnston and Sam Hart, so I don’t know how closely Kurt Johnstad’s script follows that narrative. But the movie’s story tries a bit too hard to be clever in setting up double agents and double-crosses and revealing who the true bad guy of the film is. (I think the casting already gives that away.) Unfortunately, those developments aren’t surprising so much as confusing, unnecessarily cluttering up a story that seemed to be doing just fine until the third act or so.

Yes, a clearer story would have made this movie better. But it almost doesn’t matter. Theron is that good playing a badass spy who might care a bit more than she lets on, but perseveres despite little support from her colleagues and superiors. And the action scenes are that exciting, living up to the standard of what we expect now that movies like John Wick have raised the bar. Broughton is a character that could be fun to see in a sequel, though Atomic Blonde is tied so closely to its era that any follow-up would seem like a very different film. Maybe Broughton and John Wick can face off somewhere down the line. It would be better than the last movie they were in together, Sweet November.