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Rating: 2.5 out of 5
I know very little about the Cold War, but it was when the United States and Russia were at significant odds with each other. Since then, the two superpowers still really don’t get along. Two powerful forces with massive amounts of weapons of mass destruction, along with hating the way each other runs their respective country. The United States is all about diplomacy and the people, while Russia is all about dictatorship. No matter what, the primary thing that each country tries to do is obtain each other’s secrets. The use of spies has been heavily explored and researched. The United States’ leading intelligence agency is the CIA or Central Intelligence Agency. The CIA is usually the primary place if you’ve seen Jason Bourne or any other spy movie. On the other side is the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation. I thought it was the KGB, but I guess I was wrong. If I could give you an example, think of Black Widow from the Marvel movies.
I bring all these up because I recently watched Red Sparrow, starring Jennifer Lawrence. The Red Sparrow program is a group of Russian spies who use sexpionage and the use of kompromat. If you need definitions like I do, then sexpionage is the involvement of sexual activity such as sexual activity, romance, and seduction to conduct espionage. Kompromat uses damaging information against an influential figure to force them into blackmail or extortion.
Red Sparrow is a spy film directed by Francis Lawrence and written by Justin Haythe, based on the 2013 novel of the same name by Jason Matthews. Matthews is a former CIA operative who advised the production on the deception of spying. In his book, he describes the routine daily world of the intelligence world and how the Red Sparrow program uses its ability to see people’s emotions in color.
Dominika Egorova (Lawrence) is a world-renowned ballerina who fully supports her ill mother. Dominika’s career takes a devastating turn when her leg is broken on stage during a performance that officially ends her career. After recovering from her injury, she is approached by her uncle Ivan (Schoenaerts), the deputy director of the SVR. Ivan tasks her with the mission of seducing Dimitry Ustinov, a Russian gangster, in exchange for continuing her mother’s medical care. Dominika meets with the gangster who rapes her only to be saved by Sergei Matorin (Hülk), who kills the gangster. Ivan gives Dominika a choice: become an SVR operative or be executed for being a witness to the gangster’s death. With no other choice, Dominika agrees and is sent to State School 4, one of the most brutal specialist training schools for “Sparrows” led by the unwavering and hard Matron (Rampling), the Headmistress of Sparrow School. The Sparrows are known operatives of seducing their targets in the art of sexpionage. Dominika excels in her training and, with the recommendation of her uncle and General Vladimir Korchnoi (Irons), decides to send her on a mission to gain Nash’s trust and expose Marble’s identity. Will Dominika’s identity be revealed, or will she succeed in her mission?
The story was okay. Well, maybe it was boring because it tried to be this stylish spy thriller, and it didn’t come off that well. While watching the film, some scenes got you interested, such as Dominika becoming a spy and the reasons, but overall, the story and film fell flat. Honestly, I can see many men only watching this film to see Jennifer Lawrence naked. Besides that, the film could have garnered more interest.
I don’t want to be harsh, but I think the film industry has set a standard of what a spy film should consider with James Bond, Jason Bourne, and even Atomic Blonde. Red Sparrow takes a slower pace that is meh. The film starts with Dominika as a renowned ballerina. She takes care of her mom and is on top of the world. When a devastating injury ends her career, she is approached by her uncle, a top man in the Russian Intelligence Government; she is recruited to become a Red Sparrow and use her beauty to seduce a CIA agent and discover a mole. The film’s first half is interesting as you see what Dominika goes through to be a Sparrow. Her teacher, Matron, the head of the program, is relentless and expects expectations. When she asks Dominika to perform a sexual act in front of the class, you know it is about to get serious. Another scene is when Dominika gets naked and goads the male bully into having sex with her in front of the class but tells him he has a limp dick. This is why the film’s first half is entertaining because a lot is going on.
The second half of the film is where the movie really falls off. Dominika is tasked with seducing Nash, a CIA operative, and finding a mole. It falls off here because it feels like the film was rushed, and there is no real connection between the characters. Nate figured out Dominika’s identity in around 15 minutes. He knew what she was up to. He tries to get her to be a double agent. The first mission is to gain information from a Chief of Staff member for a U.S. Senator. This was the best part of the second half of the film. When homegirl saw she was spied on, she ran into the road and was splattered. The second task is finding the mole, which is muddled and disinteresting. You could predict what would happen when Dominika did some maneuvering to frame certain people and figure out who the mole was.
I want to give credit to Jennifer Lawrence. She tried her best to carry this film and went out of her norm. Her nude scene was intense, but it couldn’t save this film. Lawrence is a great actress, but this film’s storyline and zero chemistry with the main lead actor failed her. I am a Lawrence fan, and this wasn’t the right movie for her.
Joel Edgerton as Nate Nash was a bore to watch. I don’t know what it is about him, but sometimes, he comes off as cool or terrible in his films. I felt like he was trying way too hard in this film. I don’t know what it was, but he didn’t seem believable. I want to give it up to Charlotte Rampling as Matron. Whenever I see Rampling in any movie now, she is a fierce woman that seems to be pissed off at the world and plays no games. She looks like she is all business and will take shit from no one. She can command and teach any of my people any day of the week.
Red Sparrow is one of those films that is decent. It’s not great, but it’s not that bad either. It is right in the middle. If you are looking for a female spy film, you can add this one to it, but there are others that will be far more entertaining. Lawrence gives a strong performance but is failed because of the uneven storyline and pace of the film.
