User Reviews

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.

Based upon the book of the same name by ex-CIA agent Jason Matthews, Red Sparrow is a modern-day spy thriller by director Francis Lawrence (Hunger Games: Catching Fire, I Am Legend) that harks back to the days of the cold war thrillers of the 70s/80s but fails to update it appropriately, coming across as a piece of vitriolic propaganda and little else. Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone) and the rest of the top-notch cast try their damndest to give it some credibility but the story and premise make for a predictably silly and gratuitous affair on many levels.

Dominika Egorova (Lawrence) is the top female dancer at the Bolshoi ballet theatre in Russia, who succumbs to a terrible injury that ruins her career. As the Bolshoi theatre seeks to wash its hands clean of 'damaged goods', giving her job and home to a rival, Dominika and her sick mother's welfare are put in jeopardy. Seeing an opportunity, Dominika's spymaster uncle makes her an offer she can't refuse, in return for the safeguard of her mother's health, leading her into the world of espionage and the Sparrow program, where seduction and the art of the honey-trap are the key weapons.

By the time you get through a quarter of the mind-numbingly long, 139 minutes, the viewer is left in no doubt of Red Sparrow's predictable outcome. This inevitable plotline is laboured along by the director's attempts to mask it with half-assed twists and turns that just don't feel plausible when putting it in the life or death, professional espionage scenario that the story is supposed to portray. Joel Edgerton (The Gift) is as reliable as ever playing the CIA agent that she ends up in a game of cat and mouse with but the relationship does not feel natural, especially with how the script moves their love-tinged story along. The dialogue is cliche-ridden, telegraphic and Jennifer Lawrence, although competent enough, acting wise, lets her slightly dodgy accent drop every so often, making for some unintentional moments of humour. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy this is not.

The main trio of 'evil' Russians has the very talented Matthias Schoenaerts (The Drop) - looking very Putinesque! - playing the devious spymaster uncle to a believable degree, Jeremy Irons hamming it up as a ruthless general and Charlotte Rampling in an absolutely ludicrously over-the-top role as the sinister Matron of the Sparrow program. The whole Sparrow training scene is like something out of Armand Ianucci's fantastic, The Death Of Stalin, minus the satire, as it serves to show the viewer how Russia is trying to take over the planet and that Russians are inherent bigots, deviants, rapists and sociopaths. These scenes are probably the most significant pile of gratuitous excrement that I've had grace my eyes and ears for quite some time.

The overall theme of this nonsense is to remind us not to forget that Russians in general are twisted, violent and manipulative control freaks, while all the men are partial to being woman-beaters and rather rapey, apparently. And of course, the CIA are all good ole boys who occasionally mess up, but are out to free the world from tyranny and have everyone's best interests at heart. I kid you not. No exaggeration.

I'm not sure how much screenwriter Justin Haythe (The Lone Ranger) carved up the story of the book but this is trashy beyond belief. One thing that is for sure is that director Francis Lawrence clearly knows that the biggest asset they have in this is Jennifer Lawrence's body, as the amount of disrobing or scantily clad scenes, along with blatant arse shots that she's subjected to, is off the charts. And when that is the most impressive aspect of your film, then you should know that there's a problem. Red Sparrow is what I can only be described as twaddle - brutal, nasty, occasionally boring but always gratuitous twaddle.

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.

In a post-Cold War Russia Jennifer Lawrence finds herself in the center of Russian Intelligence operations. Being thrusted into a new life or death landscape, she adapts to survive. Jennifer Lawrence as usual thrives in the spotlight. From emotionally driven scenes, to becoming a character. Maybe not an entirely unique character to what she is used to but embodies the character none the less. Red Sparrow takes a long look into the retrieval of a mole. And yes, I do mean long. Reaching almost two and a half hours, brevity was not their goal. However, the movie keeps your attention for the most part to where it doesn't feel as long. But really not that much shorter. At points the film does linger, and you find yourself wondering when it will pick up, and who is this other Russian needed person for. People come in and out of the plot at points to just drive the story along. I think if the movie was to cut out 30 minutes it would have been more effective. The film definitely was a solid film, one that I know the general public won't fall in love with, based on some of the gritty and almost over the top violent scenes. But a film nonetheless that warrants a looking in to. Jennifer once again finds herself in a role that pushes the boundaries of sexuality and violence. In a different approach, yes, but one that may be more provocative than necessary. Director Francis Lawrence is definitely riding Jennifer's coat tail into success. Not that she is bringing all of the talent, but with Francis putting her at the forefront, she is definitely driving his vision into fruition. I'm sure he will make another movie starring her, and we will see how much influence she will have on the subsequent films and how far they can push the envelope. Seeing as from the first hunger games he directed to the last pushed the boundaries a ton already. Red Sparrow was the next step, and by the next movie we could have a very crazy, sexual, and violent, rebellious J-Law on our hands.

I've been waiting to see this movie since it was announced and I got a chance to see this movie. You have to have read the book in order to understand what was going on. I'm happy they stuck to the material and followed a majority of the book but took some creative liberties with it. Did it ruin the movie? NO. I think it made it interesting. The only thing that grinds my gears is Nate Nash. In the book, he was 28! TWENTY EIGHT YEARS OLD. Here they make him like almost twenty years older. But I digress. I love the star power they got for this movie, J Law did a good job but, at times her Russian accent seems to fade in and out. Joel Edgerton did a good job as Nash, though not my first choice for the part. Jeremy Irons always stealing the spotlight whenever he can. Great work!! I don't want to go into details about everything that was changed or omitted. The bottom line is, I'm happy that a movie adaptation of a best seller stuck as close it can to the book. Brought a smile to my face, can't wait to see Palace of Treason to be brought to the screen next. Final score: 7/10

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.

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.

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.

Red Sparrow is an incredible thriller that's unpredictable, extremely well made and tense. Jennifer Lawrence gives an incredible lead performance with Joel Edgerton and Matthias Schoenaerts giving great performances. Francis Lawrence's direction is excellent. The pacing is also great. The only downside is that is almost excessively disturbing in places.

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).

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"...

First of all. The movie takes place mainly in Russia, where everybody speaks English with a Russian accent. What is wrong with Hollywood? Either go full russian or just use normal american English like in the other thousand adaptations that you have made! It's ok! Don't try to add originality with an accent cause it is really really cheap!!! We know it's an american film and it's totaly natural to be in English. Now the movie. The plot is a bit slow and at first bit it gets better, the acting is ok so counts as a plus, but all in all it's a quite predictable and mediocre film. Nudity and violence are there to keep things a bit interesting until somthething actually interesting happens. There is a light mystery dark atmosphere found in spy and crime dramas, so maybe that's another plus. If you are a Lawrence fun then maybe you will be pleased but if not then better find something else to watch. Only the fact that this is not another universe action super hero film it's not enough to make it a good film. I am very disappointed to see people be happy just for this reason.