Charlize Theron was badass in Mad Max: Fury Road, but she gets even Furiosa in Atomic Blonde. Toward the end of the Cold War thriller that opens Friday, the camera follows Theron (playing an MI6 spy) up an elevator, onto a stairwell where she’s attacked by Russian thugs, into an apartment where she employs a hot plate as a weapon, and eventually out onto the street and into a police car for a high-speed chase. At just under 10 minutes long, the bravura sequence is a living, bleeding embodiment of director David Leitch’s mission: Use analog techniques to make action cinema feel real again.

While the set piece appears to be one uninterrupted take, Leitch stitched it together using old-school camera tricks like whip pans and wipes to make the transitions seamless—digital effects were a last resort. Even when Theron’s character tumbles down a flight of stairs: “That’s not digital,” Leitch says. “That’s 100 percent Charlize’s head bashing into the wall.” That’s not 100 percent wall, though—it’s well-­disguised foam rubber.

It’s showy, sure, but Leitch says his technique isn’t a gimmick. “You get numb in these fight scenes where everybody feels invincible,” he says. “There should be some real consequences, so the audience will feel it and connect with her emotionally.” It’s the kind of thing more Hollywood action directors should be fighting for.

This article appears in the August issue. Subscribe now.