Red Sparrow

Dominika, a former ballerina, has been trained in a spy school and has become a professional seductress. Now she is tasked with getting close to an American agent and discovering who in Russian intelligence is passing him information. But her mission is complicated by her superiors and perhaps her true feelings. Red Sparrow is a rather intimate spy thriller, and a bit too long. It tries to be sexy and provocative, most of the time it’s uncomfortably aloof, cold, and unnecessarily plodding. And not very entertaining. (26/07/2018)

Red Sparrow relate the tale of how a young ballerina, Jennifer Lawrence, became the best Russian spy overnight, of course after undergoing a training program for juvenile recruits at an ethically controversial Russian institute called “The Sex Games”. The movie is totally failed attempt at an atmospheric and refined cold-war thriller with a romantic storyline. A wannabe clever espionage drama where the chemistry between the Russian agent and her American counterpart is too feeble to serve as the movie’s sole foundation. It offers nothing else in its long runtime – neither thriller-like suspense nor action. With her baby face, Lawrence is the casting fuck-up of the year. Matthias Schoenaerts is the only one who gives a believable acting performance; he even looks like Putin! The music “inspired” by Goldsmith’s Basic Instinct is supposed to evoke a seductive sexual tone. The similarly conceived Atomic Blonde, which doesn’t pretend to be anything it’s not, is the clear winner here. (04/03/2018)

I get it, Jennifer Lawrence was meant to play a completely merciless and emotionless murderer. It’s a shame she is like that in most of her movies. Another issue I saw in the fact that it is an espionage thriller, but at the end I was thoroughly confused about what happened. For an espionage thriller there was extremely little suspense and action, so during those two and a half hours I almost wondered whether to cook dinner or start dusting. Luckily it was saved by the great beauty of Jennifer, and her two acting colleagues – Joel Edgerton and Matthias Schoenaerts. I respect them so I finished to movie to the end and I admit that it is at least average. (14/07/2018)

The American take on the Russian state apparatus is compelling, delivered with respect, and most fans of gritty spy movies will find it to their liking. The secret services in Russia are portrayed as a power-hungry, hard and uncompromising hierarchy of alpha males and females, both decision-makers and enforcers; like a creeping silent force, insidious and yet mesmerizing. This is exactly what the agent, played by Jennifer Lawrence, tries to portray very ably. Another one of her bolder roles in a minimalist and quite raw film with a solid plot, a great modern "cold war" atmosphere and a couple of scenes of explicit violence. Only the hint of romance is a bit too much, but if you take it all as part of the plan, you can turn a blind eye to it. Matthias Schoenaerts is superb as always and Charlotte Rampling is to die for as a demonic teacher. (03/03/2018)

Sexy Jennifer Lawrence in an erotically cool spy thriller. I definitely think that if David Fincher had been in charge (he was supposed to direct it) it would have been a bigger hit, but it's still a decent thriller that isn't afraid of nudity and blood. Jennifer Lawrence is very sexy here and shows up full frontal naked, which will please many a male eye, as will the traditionally excellent Joel Edgerton. The hard training Jennifer undergoes in Russia to become a Red Sparrow is filmed very effectively, the psychological weight and erotic tension is omnipresent. At times the 140-minute running time drags in certain sequences and some editing wouldn't hurt, but I didn't find myself downright bored. The final torture and the denouement are excellent. A solid film that avoids the mainstream thanks to its eroticism and brutality and offers an unconventional story that hasn't been in cinemas for a while. 75% (15/03/2018)