There was an attempt to redefine Charlize Theron as an action movie star early in her career, and the disastrous result was Aeon Flux. She mostly kept away from the genre until a couple of years ago with Mad Max: Fury Road, a performance in which she stole the entire movie away from the guy whose name is in the title. While it's unlikely we'll see her as Furiosa again, Theron has given herself another kick-ass role to play in the Cold War thriller Atomic Blonde, and our first photos from it have arrived.
Directed by John Wick's David Leitch, the film formerly known as The Coldest City is based on the graphic novel which Theron picked up the rights to some five years ago. She plays an elite British spy Lorraine Broughton, formidable in all forms of spycraft including the use of her sensuality as a deadly weapon. Her latest mission finds her dropped deep into Berlin to retrieve a critically important dossier, and must work with an embedded station chief (James McAvoy) to navigate the web of spies. The film co-stars Sofia Boutella, Toby Jones, John Goodman, and Eddie Marsan.
Atomic Blonde opens July 28th but will have its world premiere at SXSW. [EW]
