How The Bone-Crunching Stunts Of 'Atomic Blonde' Were Achieved
John Wick co-director David Leitch went solo to helm the new Charlize Theron spy film Atomic Blonde, and he proved he could deliver a slick, stylish thriller full of memorable action sequences. I'm sure you've already heard about one scene that's made to look like a single shot, because it's already earned legendary status among action movie geeks and will rightfully be praised for years to come.
But that's not the only worthwhile action beat in the movie, and we've gathered a couple of videos from the production's crew that explain how they worked with the actors to pull off a brutal, bone-crunching barrage of punches, kicks, and in-camera car chase stunts that drop us into the world of 1980s Berlin. Find out how these Atomic Blonde stunts were achieved below.
We've already showed you a cool video of Theron in training, so make sure to check that out if you haven't. But today, Yahoo has a nice video breakdown with Leitch about the tail end of that aforementioned long take escape sequence. In the movie, Theron's secret agent character Lorraine Broughton is attempting to escort a contact named Spyglass (Eddie Marsan) who possesses important information across the border to West Berlin. After Lorraine battles her way through a ferocious stairwell fight (a scene Leitch told Wired was largely practical, although there was some foam padding incorporated into the wall), she and Spyglass get in a car and hit the road – only to be immediately followed by more baddies. I'll let Leitch take it from here:
It's cool to hear about this scene because it's a tour de force of action movie filmmaking, but something nagged at me when I watched the movie and I think this video confirms it: we see Charlize shoot the car behind them which flips into the street, but when they quickly reverse, that car is no longer there. There wasn't enough time for it to move out of the way, and in a scene which pays so close attention to the details, I'm surprised they just shrugged that one off.
Once you've watched that video, be sure to check out this excellent fight breakdown from Wired with second unit director and stunt coordinator Sam Hargrave, which focuses on the "Father Figure" hose fight that takes place soon after Lorraine arrives in Berlin. This one is full of some good, meaty nuggets of info about strategically placed glass explosions, the ins and outs of the film's painful-looking nut shots, and much more.
Atomic Blonde, which is based on the 2012 graphic novel The Coldest City, is in theaters now.
Oscar-winner Charlize Theron explodes into summer in Atomic Blonde, a breakneck action-thriller that follows MI6's most lethal assassin through a ticking time bomb of a city simmering with revolution and double-crossing hives of traitors.
The crown jewel of Her Majesty's Secret Intelligence Service, Agent Lorraine Broughton (Charlize Theron) is equal parts spycraft, sensuality and savagery, willing to deploy any of her skills to stay alive on her impossible mission. Sent alone into Berlin to deliver a priceless dossier out of the destabilized city, she partners with embedded station chief David Percival (James McAvoy) to navigate her way through the deadliest game of spies.