User reviews

This was so much better than other reviews suggested. No, this movie is not too long. No, it isn't confusing.

Red Sparrow is almost perfectly developing the character of the protagonist, in an extreme but not unrealistic plot. There constantly is drama, conflict and (potential) betrayal.

This was a wonderful experience, which you should celebrate by paying full attention. It's not some action/agent flick you can watch on the side, to celebrate explosions and killing sprees.

There is never a dull moment in the movie. JLaw did an amazing job although I am not much of a fan. I didn't care for her accent since she is speaking English in the movie anyway so who cares. For me her acting would have been as good without the accent as well. She portrays a cold and ruthless character and her expressions are enough to convey the message. Matthias Schoenaerts was also impressive. Ending took me by surprise. It could have been a much better movie if all Russian men were not portrayed as evil in the movie and all CIA as heroes and if graphic scenes were reduced. Nevertheless I found it more entertaining than Bond movies.

The book, that 'Red Sparrow' is adapted from, is brilliant. It is very complex, but also very clever, suspenseful, intelligent and fun. As well as loving the book, the main reason for seeing 'Red Sparrow' was the cast which is a talented one and while not being blown away by the advertising it left me intrigued.

After seeing it, 'Red Sparrow' turned out to be a decent film in my opinion that flies high enough, but falls short of being great (like it could easily have been) meaning it doesn't quite soar. As an adaptation, it is a laudable one. The book is very difficult to adapt, but the film condenses it while still adhering to the spirit of the source material and what makes it so good and still making sense.

It is to me much better than the mixed critical reviews, while sharing a few of the criticisms, and is not a 1/10 film. A rating only reserved by me for films that have no redeeming qualities and don't try. 'Red Sparrow' does try and has a lot going for it, while being problematic, if anything leaning slightly towards the trying too hard side of the spectrum.

'Red Sparrow' has a very elaborate and suitably challenging story with plenty of twists and turns, the most shocking being the ending which will confound some but like with me haunt others. Luckily it is executed with a suitably cold and suspenseful touch, while having the intelligence to be involving and not taking itself overly seriously. A lot goes on and it's very complex content, yet the story doesn't feel too convoluted if perhaps over-stuffed in places.

Visually, 'Red Sparrow' looks great. In particular the scenery, landscapes and locations, which are wondrous and have such a lot of atmosphere and beauty. Made just as striking by the stylish photography, where the cold look suits the tone and subject very well, and slick editing. The music has its share of tension without intruding too much.

Script is smart and thought-provoking, again being challenging and elaborate enough without being too over-complicated. Francis Lawrence directs with cool confidence and personally that the violence and torture weren't that gratuitous, they are not for the faint-hearted certainly but for the subject the brutality was needed, is not overdosed upon and added to the full horrors of the situation.

Most of the cast come over very well. Jennifer Lawrence, hated a lot on IMDb but for me one of the better actresses today under 30, is in one of her most demanding roles here and she is not taxed by it at all and gives it everything, commanding the screen with ease. Frosty Charlotte Rampling, authoritative Jeremy Irons and menacing Matthias Schoenarts support her just as strongly.

For all those strengths, there are drawbacks. 'Red Sparrow' is a little overlong by about 15-20 minutes and there are times where the pace loses its tautness. Agree that the characters tend to be one-dimensional and although the cast are mostly very good the accents are less than great.

Joel Edgerton is out of his depth sadly too, having neither the charm or the intensity for such a role. He and Lawrence have very little chemistry, sexually or otherwise, meaning that the more intimate scenes lack sensuality.

Overall though, a decent and better than expected film but something was missing. 7/10 Bethany Cox

When we talk about the spy genre, most of us will shout "Bond. James Bond." in your best Sean Connery impression. In reality, and most certainly in my opinion, some of the best spy films are those that focus on espionage. For instance, the John Le Carré adaptations bathed in its dialogue as opposed to action. Red Sparrow attempts to replicate that. A famed ballerina encounters a career-ending injury who is then approached by her powerful uncle who eventually transforms her into a 'Sparrow' (not literally...). Russian operatives capable of seducing their targets, to which one of them being a CIA operative. It's cold, moody and revels in backstabbing and double-crossing, two intricately explored traits of the spy genre. Full credit to Jennifer Lawrence who gives yet another committed performance, using her sexuality and serious acting talent to deliver the goods. The Sparrow School segment was intrusively interesting, Charlotte Rampling was ominous and brainwashes her pupils with such ferocity. Those scenes and the interrogations surprisingly raised the tension. Whilst I was never bored and thought the pacing was decent, I left the cinema disappointed. A character-driven story that presents no characters worth investing in. The constant need to purposefully put on Russian accents was a detriment to the outstanding talent on screen, as if these actors couldn't multi-task. The dialogue is rarely intelligent and injects no personality into these characters. The consequence of turning an espionage thriller into a mainstream blockbuster is that it sacrifices an intelligent story so that the average viewer can understand the plot, thus subjugating to monotony. The 140 minute runtime didn't bother me, and fortunately the third act elevates the much needed tension with a few twists and turns but ultimately I remained underwhelmed. I appreciate the acting, the daring sexual violence and the cold atmosphere, yet a bland story with minimal characterisation prevents an engrossing thriller. I just wanted more...

I was shocked reading some of the reviews on here knocking Jennifer Lawrence's performance as cold and emotionless. This is how she's supposed to act as she is, she's lost everything and has become numb. I thoroughly enjoyed this film and despite Jennifer not 'perfecting' the Russian accent as so many mention on here it is a difficult accent to learn so give the girl credit for the way she played the role! I can't fault this film, it's a spy thriller so don't listen to the critics and give it a chance.

I don't usually watch R-rated films -- I'm no fan of gore or excessive violence, and I don't go to the cinema to watch sex -- but I made an exception for this, because I usually try to see Jennifer Lawrence's movies.

I do not at all understand this film's low ratings on Rotten Tomatoes and generally critical reception. It's another sterling performance, and it's a spy thriller that I for one definitely did not figure out as it went along. (In fact, I'm glad I was recently able to rewatch it through Fandango, because having seen the final twist, I wanted to go back over the film to see the events again, knowing the final story in advance).

JLaw is utterly convincing as an innocent swept into a cruel profession she would never have chosen. Her character undergoes a transformation before our eyes. Lawrence successfully conveys her character's initial terror and near-helplessness changing into competency and iron resolution.

The violence can be brutal (if you're not into that kind of thing). The sex and nudity is really minimal, although it is there.

I'm really glad I saw this film twice. I'd see it again. I recommend it.

Though I'm a fan of Ms Lawrence and wouldn't fault her performance all that much, this film's attempt to portray Russia as the home of overly cruel spymasters doesn't ring very true to me. It smells of over-the-top propaganda hoping to cast Russia as some soulless country without moral compass. If the US were given this treatment, we would all see through the overwrought bias. But as Russia is in the news, we tend to tolerate this kind of hyperbole.

At the start I really couldn't picture Ms Lawrence as a Russian for some reason. But she does a fairly good job of bringing her role to life, despite a lame accent. Quickly, however, I started to wish I had read the book first. There's a buildup and then a middle act that the director pretty much bungles. The problem is Red Sparrow's psyche is not well delineated during a crucial time in the story. All the plot elements are there but they're deliberately not gathered together. Why, I have no idea, as the story might have been much more compelling if played out under better direction. But then that might have been how the book does it.

Anyway, I was sorry to have missed Bruce Willis' new movie by the time it was over. It was also opening this weekend. Red Sparrow didn't work for me on several levels but I doubt Ms Lawrence's career takes much of a hit.

My wife and I watched this at home on DVD. While it is a bit long at 2+ hours it is told in an interesting manner and never seemed too long.

We both remarked that is has similarities to "La Femme Nikita" where a young lady with natural cunning is given a choice, but her only means of survival is to accept the job working for the agency.

Jennifer Lawrence is Russian ballet star Dominika Egorova. A tragic accident happens at the end of a performance, ending her career. But she gets a chance, really an order, to train as a Sparrow, which she terms a high class whore. To size up targets and infiltrate as a spy by giving them what they need.

As it turns out one target is Joel Edgerton as American spy Nate Nash, hustled out of Moscow when his Russian mole is almost caught. Invariably his mission gets tangled up with hers.

The other key character is played by Matthias Schoenaerts who is her uncle, . Vanya Egorov. It is a classic case of trying to figure out who is really on which side, as often a character has to use misdirection to accomplish a task.

We enjoyed it, an interesting and entertaining viewing.

This exciting film contains dramatic events, action , thrills, blood and is plenty of sex and graphical violence. Stars Dominika Egorova (Jennifer Lawrence who did ballet and practiced a Russian accent for various months) is a famous Russian prima ballerina for the renowned Bolshoi Ballet. After an injury that kept her out of stage, the former Russian dancer is coercively recruited by her uncle Vanya Egorov (Matthias Schoenaerts) to work for the secret services of her country, to be part of the Red Sparrow program. There she will learn the art of espionage using methods of seduction while trying to maintain his sense of identity. The Sparrow school is run by the stiff-upper-lip teacher Matron (Charlotte Rampling). Her first mission, targeting a C. I. A. Agent, Nash (Joel Edgerton), threatens to unravel the security of both nations. The two young officers collide in a charged atmosphere of trade-craft, deception, and inevitably forbidden passion that threatens not just their lives but the lives of others as well. Seductive !. Deceptive !. Deadly !. I Know Your Secrets !. The road to forgiveness begins with betrayal !. Seduce!. Deceive !. Repeat!.

This tense spy thriller directed by Francis Lawrence is loaded with a twisted script full of lies, half-truths, plot twists, lots of suspense, and overwhelming sensuality with strong doses of sex. It is based on the novel of the same name written by Jason Matthews. This writer, who was a CIA agent for more than 30 years, provides unbeatable rigor and verisimilitude to the story. With this bestseller and critical success, Matthews opened a trilogy of novels that continues with "Palace of Treason" and closes with ¨The Kremlins Candidate¨. According to Jason Matthews "honeypot" ór ¨Sparrow¨school was indeed part of Soviet intelligence training; in the Soviet Union, they had a school that taught young women the art of seduction, and the art of entrapment, for blackmailing intelligence targets. There was a Sparrow School in the city of Kazan, on the banks of the Volga River, where young women were taught how to be courtesans, they were called 'Sparrows'.

Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence and Australian actor Joel Edgertom play pretty well two spies who enter into a complicated relationship based on attraction and deception that will endanger their careers and the security of their respective countries. Along with them, other good supporting actors giving good performances, such as: Matthias Schoenaerts, Charlotte Rampling, Mary-Louise Parker, Ciarán Hinds, Joely Richardson, Bill Camp, Thekla Reuten, Douglas Hodge, Sakina Jaffrey, the also Oscar-winning Jeremy Irons, among others, completing the ensemble cast of this film.

It contains a suspenseful and thrilling musical score by James Newton Howard . As well as colorful and adequate cinematography by Jo Willems, Francis Lawrence's regular cameraman. The motion picture was well directed by Francis Lawrence, although it gets a bit long and heavy at times. No relation to actress Jennifer Lawrence, although Francis and Jennifer have worked together in four movies: Hunger Games: Catching fire (2013), Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014), Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015) and Red Sparrow (2018). He's a successful fimmaker (I am Legend , Constantine , Hunger Games saga) and usually video-clips director (for Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez , among others) . Rating Red Sparrow, 6.5/10 : Good , better than average . Well worth watching .

Dominika Egorova (Jennifer Lawrence) was a prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet until a freak accident forced her out of her rising career due to injury. Desperate to be able to keep supporting her ill mother (Joely Richardson), Dominika accepted the sketchy offer of her very own uncle Vanya Egorov (Matthias Schoenaerts), a highly-placed Russian spy official, to help them lure a certain subject for an extra-judicial execution.

She was sent to an academy for Sparrows under the tutelage of the "Matron" (Charlotte Rampling). This was a training ground for select agents who would use their looks and bodies to seduce required information out of targets. Her first case was to make contact with an American agent Nate Nash (Joel Edgerton), and coax out of him the identity of the Russian mole he was protecting.

The film is a long one, 140 minutes -- more than two hours. It took its time to establish Dominika's back story in the first act. It devoted a lot of scenes of her Sparrow training, and these were some of the most interesting, controversial and sensational parts of the film. The rest of the film would be standard double-crossing spy dramatics we are more familiar with, a femme fatale spy is one of the oldest tricks in the book. However, not without some unexpected nifty twists of its own.

Jennifer Lawrence finally conquered her fear to do film nudity in one very bold scene in front of a room of people, as she taunted a fellow trainee Nikolai (Makar Zaporozhskiy) to have sex with her. I was expecting bone-crushing fight scenes like those we saw in other female spy films like "Salt" or "Atomic Blonde" but there was not much of that here. That does not mean though that this was short on painfully gruesome torture scenes -- both inflicted on, and inflicted by, JLaw. She felt really ice cold here, not easy for us to connect with.

Joel Edgerton played an unconventional movie spy -- a one-dimensional good guy. There was never a point where you felt Nash would do anything bad to Dominika. Funny how the men (not JLaw) kept on referring to him as handsome, like we need to be convinced. On the other hand, I was more impressed with the characterization of Belgian actor Matthias Schoenaerts of Dominika's Uncle Vanya. You knew the character was bad news, but the actor tries to give him some layers to make that final scene worth your while. Jeremy Irons looked miscast as the Russian General Korchnoi.

I wish Charlotte Rampling had more to do in the film than in only in those training center scenes. I was hoping that she and/or any of her classmates would figure in actual action somewhere else in the film, but there would be none of that. Mary Louise Parker was as quirky (and spaced out) as ever as Stephanie Boucher, the chief of staff to a US senator who was not averse to sharing secret data with her lesbian lover who turned out to be another Sparrow Marta (Thekla Reuten).

The storytelling of director Francis Lawrence (best known for having directed JLaw in three out of the four "Hunger Games" films) was not complicated and engaging, but may have occasional drag in certain points in Act 2. It sort of felt like a "Mission Impossible" the way the elements of the complex scheme all fell neatly into place. I think there could have been a more deeply psychological exploration of sexual espionage, as that was its main selling point. The Sparrow academy part could actually have been a whole film in itself, but here, it barely scratched the surface of its cinematic potential. 6/10.

Red Sparrow came as a surprise to me, after not being particularly intrigued by the promotional material and coming out to negative reviews it ended up being quite good. Not to say that it was amazing in any ways but it really just was a decent spy thriller with hard R violence and gore, certain scenes of the movie was completely cringing to behold. Nonetheless, I was surprised by the good time that I actually had with Red Sparrow.

Obviously, it isn't groundbreaking in any ways and the normal conventions of a spy thriller was used but seeing as it was just well acted and intriguing viewers can be hooked into the story and buy into the quote on quote twist at the end of the film. Because of Jennifer Lawrence's brilliant portrayal this film actually is a good watch.

Red Sparrow also takes several bold choices, really pushing the envelope in some cases when it comes to its sex and violence. But in this case, I think it worked, it wasn't just to get some sort of audience reaction but rather served a purpose of telling this brutal story and the harsh conditions that are faced by Jennifer Lawrence's character.

Well executed, filmed and acted resulting in a fairly decent film in which audiences could forgive its lack of a meaningful story.

Fake Russian accent (and not even one sentence in Russian!), the worst acting and the most embarrassing sex scene I have ever seen on screen. I still can't believe Jeremy Irons (one of the best living actors) was willing to participate in this. I hope he got well paid.. I usually like Jenifer Laurence - That's the reason I went to see "Red Sparrow" last night - but this..? For God sake, She has the same look on her face for 2 long hours and 15 minutes! The look of "let's get it over with already"...

Addressing the elephant in the room, there are moments in this movie that will leave you squirming in your seat. Normally this would be a major negative, but this is an intentional choice. For a movie with so much sex in it, little to none of it is hot or even sexy. I think this was a brave and chancy thing to show so much raw abuse and although it is graphic, it really underscores the traumatizing effect of what Dominika is subjected to. It is uncomfortable, but I think its more realistic than people want to admit. This is an adult movie dealing with adult themes and although there were times where I wanted to look away, it didn't dissuade me from wanting to see where Red Sparrow would go.

The other big criticism I hear when it comes to Red Sparrow is the running time. I don't hesitate to gripe about a movie when there's a lull in the middle or if they stretch the movie out another 15 minutes longer than they should, but I actually didn't think movie overstayed its welcome at all. There aren't many scenes that could have been cut or moments that didn't serve a purpose. If you were going in expecting Atomic Blonde, the lack of action might not be to your liking. But I never found Red Sparrow dull or poorly paced.

There isn't a ton of action in this movie but when this movie gets violent, you really feel it. Its raw, bloody and stomach churning. Its also done in a way that feels realistic and believable. There are some brutal torture methods and the hazing that Dominika and the Sector 4 students are subjected to doesn't pull any punches. The victims develop scars that they wear for the rest of the film (a nice touch that few movies do) and the discussions surrounding it are brash. But again, I enjoyed the fact that it felt a little closer to reality.

Jennifer Lawrence is still a top shelf actress but there's a chance of oversaturation developing with her celebrity status. I'm still of the opinion that she's one of the more talented lead actresses working and she does another fine job leading Red Sparrow. She's very reserved but she conveys Dominika's calculating nature and her shock and rage under a veil of indifference. She's powerful in drawing you into Dominika's story and all its rough parts. I would like to see her do this part again in a possible sequel. I'm a fan of Joel Edgerton but I didn't like him as much as Nate. But that may be more due to his character and I thought he got better as the movie went on. The surprise standout was Matthias Schoenaerts as Vanya. I've liked him in other movies, but it was normally in a thug like role. This was a big departure from that and he was great. Charlotte Rampling is suitably chilling as the Matron of Sector 4. Jeremy Irons and Ciaran Hinds are great, you just have to ignore the iffy accents.

My issues with Red Sparrow were minor and most of them were resolved by the end. The first one was that it seemed like Dominika and Nate were given way too much leeway to be realistic. Both of them keep having setbacks and face very little blowback but the movie addresses that. You also have a couple of sub-par accents but I could look past that too.

Speaking of that ending, I was really pleased with the direction they went with. This was one of the few movies lately that was able to keep me guessing and the ambiguity surrounding Dominika's motivations was essential to keeping the viewer in the dark. I watch a lot of movies and for the movie to come up with a genuine surprise made me want to pat the scriptwriter and the author on the back.

I think that this was a risky property for the studio to back and despite the troublesome nature of the plot, this was a good spy movie. It's more Jason Bourne than James Bond but it even feels topical with all the gender politics in the news right now. I think the movie is empowering in the fact that Dominika faces all this difficulty (and I can't stress enough that she goes through a $#!T storm) and she's not just using her body to get through this, its her mind that's her most valuable asset. I wouldn't mind checking out a sequel and although I think this will be a divisive movie, I would still recommend it if you can handle the subject matter.

This was a very different and unique kind of spy movie. It was not the conventional James Bond type since the spy here was not taught about the use of cool gadgets, fight skills or even the weapons & explosives use. But it was a rather psychologically advanced type of spy where the Sparrow would use their minds in finding out what the target was looking for in a person and became such. Therefore you should not expect a movie with full of action or fight sequences. This was more like a drama movie focusing on the lead character Dominika who was played truly brilliantly by Jennifer Lawrence. It was so amazing to see her characterization of this person, her transformation from an innocent ballerina to a ruthless, strong-willed, manipulative spy.

The movie's main attraction was the high intensity dramatic moments which all involved Dominika. The way she had to adjust herself into many situations, or her expressions in various conditions even in the most scary times. My wife and I were really amazed by her performance in this movie. Aside from Jennifer Lawrence's factor, the movie was also excellent in providing us few surprising twists. The final twist in the end was really mind blowing. And be sure to really concentrate on the first 10-15 minutes of the movie where you would find out how dark the tone of the movie really was. Plus the background music was also very good as it really added the element of intensity during the suspenseful moments.

This movie had a duration of more than 2 hours which for some audience might be too long for a thriller drama movie. But my wife was able to go through it without even going to the bathroom (that's how intense the whole movie was). Though for me personally, there were some moments in the middle which felt a little bit too slow. Before you decide to see this movie, you have to know that it was categorized for 21 years above in Indonesia (R rating in the US), due to the violent nature of the killing and some sexual content. So beware that the movie is really for mature audience and do not bring your children to see this.

If you are looking for a different unique kind of spy movie, based on the book written by former CIA operative named Jason Matthews (who would really know his stuff), this would be an interesting option. But if you expect a full action spy movie, then this would surely not be your thing.

For my complete review, pls have a look at michaelnontonmulu.blogspot.co.id

I looove Jeniffer Lawrence but i am sorry to say this film is so bad :( A lot of plot holes, scenes that were forced or unnecessary or didn't make any sense. Some gratuitous violence and one dimension characters, very shallow and predictable.

It's always a good sign to go watch a movie when the movie has received polarising reviews: it gives you a chance to decide for yourself.

I loved this movie. I loved it mostly because I couldn't figure out the suspense till the end. I was hooked by the plot and the screenplay. Plus the final twist was, how best to put it, sexy.

Some people and critics are bickering over things such as Lawrence's accent, the way she is trained, the sexuality, feminism, and so on. To me, these things seem trivial when I compare them to the rest of the movie.

I haven't watched The Hunger Games series by the Lawrence-Lawrence duo (director-actor), nor do I intend to, but this movie in my opinion is very well worthy of its genre. Watch the movie if you are not able to decide on your movie for the night (or day).