Red Sparrow (2018)
9/10
IMDb needs better mods
28 March 2018
Warning: Spoilers
As a preface, this is not the only JenLaw movie to get unnecessarily slammed by sham reviews. Since The Fappening, people have been on a mission to smear her image. (The personal comments about the president haven't helped.) But throw all that out, look at this film objectively, and you will be pleasantly rewarded with a spy thriller that's cunning, sexy and disturbing all at once.

Lawrence plays a Soviet op who is conned into a femme fatale lifestyle of cutthroat operatives when her ballerina career is ruined from an injury. She crosses paths with Edgerton, an agent in the middle of a career SNAFU, as he attempts to redeem his status with the CIA after getting made during his cover. Romance and espionage ensues. The movie is one part Lawrence learning to survive covertly and two parts not trying to turn on her government to aid her mother, friend, and colleagues.

The crux of why people are turning this down is the violence and graphic nudity. The violence is no worse than Fight Club and about as disturbing as Black Swan. Those are your benchmarks. As for the sexuality... yes you get to see a penis, some breasts and butt, but at this point you should know Jen is human. Body parts do not make the actor. The acting makes the actor.

Lawrence does a pretty convincing job pulling off a Russian dialect, but it's being sociopathic while undercover where she shines. It's a tale of espionage. She starts off scared and green, but over the course of 2 hours she is brutally beautiful in her façade. Edgerton is handsome and sweet. He is excellent as a supporting actor and he only makes Jennifer that much more focal in the story. One of the other standouts here is Rampling, the stoic mission driven school commandant who effortlessly instills guile in her students through psychosexual manipulation. She is equal parts mechanical and overtly invasive in finding sexual quirks. There's another standout performance in Red Sparrow, but I promised I wouldn't spoil the movie in my review.

I'm sorry I'm late with this review, but if you plan on Redboxing the movie or catching it before the theatrical run ends, do so! It is not a first date movie, but is definitely sensual, very engrossing and yet another star for both Lawrences' track records. I hope these two continue to work together for years to come.
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