Review of Red Sparrow (2018) by Davidwashere — 14 Sep 2018

Red Sparrow is a lot like last year's Atomic Blonde. Both films are about femme fatales, both films take place largely in Russia, both films have twist and turns in their spy thrillers, both films use some bold colors (Atomic Blonde blue, Red Sparrow red), and both films are by the number spy thrillers that are not interesting. The only different is that Atomic Blonde was at least fun and did not have really uncomfortable undertones like Red Sparrow does!

One thing that I can absolutely give Red Sparrow credit is that it is a technical well made spy thriller. Francis Lawrence, most known for directing three of the four Hunger Games films, as well as I am Legend, isn't exactly an interesting or stylish director, has definitely stepped up his game, making a visually striking film with some great use of red color hues. I won't call this movie stylized really and there's not a lot of subtly and substance to really analyze, but there is certainly a lot of interesting shots that does feel pretty cool. The score is also pretty great too, being done by James Newton Howard. It's largely classical inspired and even using classical pieces, that both fit the film and adds a bit of tension and even beauty to what is going on. And that's about it for the positives really.

I mean the acting is alright really, but these characters are so bland and by the numbers they just feel like carbon copies of characters you've already seen before in spy thrillers. This is very much true for Jennifer Lawrence's character, Dominika or as she is referred to "Sparrow." J-Law has proven to be a great actress, and she goes as far as she can with her role, even with her fake Russian accent, but her character is so flat that her natural charisma does not elevate her role as far as we really want. Add to some stale chemistry with Joel Edgerton, who is shockingly bad in this film, and any sex appeal from this movie is gone down the drain.

Speaking of bland, this story is just so dull! It's nothing you have not seen before, the plot is convoluted and hard to follow at times, and it's just so long and the film drags! Like I was so bored by this dull movie. It's not a constant fun, action-packed spy film and more in the vein of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, a spy film more about wit and intrigue instead of being action oriented, which I can respect. But like I have to care about what I am seeing, which I do not! It's just so uninteresting.

And not to mention really uncomfortable! Like this movie is super graphic with it's violence and sexual imagery. Like there is a scene in the film that basically was going to full blown rape, I am not kidding. This is to add to some feminist subtext with the film, but with how needlessly graphic the film gets, and really analyzing this movie in a feminist critique it is incredibly shallow. Sparrow doesn't do much work on her own as she basically has to be told what to do, including having a man forced upon her! Yuck! I can somewhat respect this movie if it was at all handled the touchy subject respectfully, or just full blown exploitative and unapologetic, but it never goes that extra step and just feels like a tepid mix of Tinker Tailor and Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Maybe the book did it better but I have no interest in picking up the source material after watching this.

I can't hate this film too much because it is a well shot movie and the score is good, but it's just a long, boring, and uncomfortable slog to sit through. It's too boring for a spy film, too shallow for a feminist movie, and too scummy for J-Law fans.