MOVIE REVIEW: RED SPARROW

Prima ballerina Dominika Egorova faces a bleak and uncertain future after she suffers an injury that ends her career. She soon turns to Sparrow School, a secret intelligence service that trains exceptional young people to use their minds and bodies as weapons. Egorova emerges as the most dangerous Sparrow after completing the sadistic training process. As she comes to terms with her new abilities, Dominika meets a CIA agent who tries to convince her that he is the only person she can trust.

Director: Francis Lawrence

Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Matthias Schoenaerts, Charlotte Rampling, Mary-Louise Parker, Jeremy Irons, Ciaran Hinds

Release Date: March 2, 2018

Genres: Mystery, Thriller

Rated R for strong violence, torture, sexual content, language and some graphic nudity

Runtime: 2h 19 min

Review:

Red Sparrow is a solid if predictable throwback to 80’s cold war spy thrillers like Gorky Park.  Those walking into this film expecting a fast movie action centric spy film will be thoroughly disappointed.  Francis Lawrence film moves at a snails pace with the cast keeping everything interesting even during some of the quieter moments.  The plot plays out in a pretty straightforward fashion so the twist and turns that inevitably occur don’t really surprise or shock that much.  Some of the graphic sequences are uncomfortable but they don’t hit the intended tone.  Thankfully, Jennifer Lawrence carries the film ably even though she’s acting through some impressive bangs an unconvincing Russian accent.  Still, she’s always interesting and engaging.  If this film had cast a lesser actress in the lead the film would have been thoroughly unbearable.  The supporting cast is rounded out with the excellent actors like Joel Edgerton, Jeremy Irons and Ciaran Hinds.  Sadly, Edgerton and Lawrence don’t really share much chemistry making their relationship feel forced throughout.  Jeremy Irons character could have used a bit more screen time to flesh out his motivations which are sadly passed off in single sequence late in the game.  Red Sparrow isn’t a terrible movie, it just one that feels like it could have been much better.

C+