This twisty, retro thriller is pretty amazing on a number of counts, but I’ll lead with this: The action is tight, with some through-composed fight scenes whose choreography runs across multiple blows and throws, and therefore requires the stars to be doing a lot of the fighting themselves. It feels real in a way many action movies don’t.

Atomic Blonde captures the look, feel, and soundscapes of 1989 quite faithfully, and creates a believable “untold story” in Berlin around the time the wall came down. The story’s plot twists run all the way to end, and are satisfying all the way through, which is difficult to pull off.

I enjoyed the film, but it wasn’t squarely “my thing,” so it doesn’t clear my Threshold of Awesome. If you loved John Wick (which I didn’t see in theaters,) you’ll probably love Atomic Blonde, too.