Let’s not beat around the bush here – Atomic Blonde is a decidedly average movie. It’s not great, and it’s not terrible. It has flaws (largely in its plot), and also some enjoyable moments (largely in Charlize Theron hitting dudes with kitchen appliances). But while the film itself is passable at best, it does bring to the fore a phenomenon of modern cinema that is the direct product of tokenism and thinly veiled misogyny – and that is, the Male-Written Token Fem-Bot.

Let’s start with a little context. Atomic Blonde is an action-mystery-thriller based on the graphic novel The Coldest City, by Antony Johnston and Sam Hart. The film is directed by David Leitch – a former stunt man who was an uncredited co-director of 2014’s John Wick. From that...

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