Review of Red Sparrow (2018) by Chester N — 15 Mar 2018

Spy thrillers are quite an odd genre, at least in my opinion. Oftentimes, they vary massively in quality. There are some incredibly mature films, focusing on the grim reality of international espionage. There are also ones which enjoy themselves more, relishing in the glitz and glamour of their line of work. Then, there's many which are simply aimed at the widest audience possible, and end up leaving nothing of substance as they do their best to play it safe and remain inoffensive to anybody.

I'll be honest, after watching the trailer and seeing Jennifer Lawrence's casting, I assumed Red Sparrow would be the latter of my list. I've nothing against Jennifer Lawrence's work, but for the most part, she seems to feature in films I rarely find enjoyment in. I enjoy X-Men comics, and the occasional film, but the recent ones she's featured in gave me little-to-no pleasure from watching them. The Hunger Games films, based on the books I enjoyed at the time, were also ultimately lacking. They even dragged out what I feel is many people's least favourite book into two films in order to maximise profits. I've yet to see Mother! but from what I've heard, it's terribly divisive. Still, it means it's the second bleak film Jennifer Lawrence has starred in, in a row.

I was even less certain about this film following the online reaction. With the recent success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, many people have been pushing for a standalone Black Widow film. Marvel seems reluctant to do so, and regardless of what people's thoughts on the matter may be, it seems we won't be getting one. Still, when Red Sparrow was announced, many fans were excited. There was certainly many links between the characters (female, russian, spy etc.) but, personally, I don't think a Black Widow film would work. At least not in the way Marvel and Disney would attempt it. Regardless, this certainly wasn't a fun, kick-ass superhero film.

Red Sparrow certainly isn't aimed at what I would consider a standard Jennifer Lawrence fan (12-20 female). It is a surprisingly adult, and remarkably depressing film. Comic relief is almost entirely absent, and the violence was cranked up to 11. In England, the film was rated a 15 (after a single scene was trimmed to keep the rating), presumably to pull in as many viewers as possible. After seeing it, however, I feel it would have been perfectly fine as an 18. I imagine they made use of various loopholes as the rating system has many odd rules regarding what you can and can't show. There was full-frontal nudity featured frequently throughout, something which I came to believe would earn you an automatic 18+ rating. Of course, adult language was also utilised throughout to a point where I was left scratching my head; I don't know what else could have been added that would have bumped the film up to an 18.

That isn't to say I was disgusted by the content. In fact, it's what I enjoyed the most. It was a pleasant surprise to see what I assumed to be a star vehicle flesh out into a grimly gruesome thriller. There was also genuine moments of beauty, with some wonderful shots sprinkled throughout the first ten minutes. In my opinion, in fact, the first third or so of the film was by far the best. The tone was terribly uncomfortable throughout certain scenes, and I was hoping the whole film would be of similar content. Unfortunately, the plot progressed.

Personally, the writing of the film was the weakest aspect for me. All of the characters felt rather flimsy, unfortunately. I appreciate that in spy films, everyone is a trained professional doing their job, and oftentimes that leads to drier scenes, but I was struggling to stay focused throughout this particular cinematic venture. The most engaging points in the film were all littered throughout the first third, once again.

The plot was also rather flimsy. Honestly, halfway through the film, I wasn't sure what the main objective was. I don't know if I simply missed an important line, but it felt like we were juggling subplots needlessly. When the actual climax of the film came, I was surprised; I assumed the main conflict we were addressing was simply a side-plot.

As lacking as I felt the characters were, however, the actors weren't to blame as far as I could tell. Jennifer Lawrence was perfectly fine, and her accent was consistent throughout as far as I could tell, so I can't complain too much. Joel Edgerton was also perfectly serviceable. Matthias Schoenaerts was probably my favourite in the film, but a single enjoyable performance can't carry a film. Unless it's Nicholas Cage, of course.

The pacing of the film was terribly slow, too. I can enjoy slower burning films, but in good films, you're fed information at a steady pace to keep you invested. In Red Sparrow, it felt like we were told something, then there'd be a half hour slump, then the plot would resume.

Unfortunately, I also found much of the soundtrack to be forgettable. I hate to continue saying it, but at the beginning, the music was used well with the scenes. Beyond that, however, I barely noticed it. I know many people may argue that means it served it's role perfectly, but I much prefer the more memorable tunes I can hum a year after seeing it.

Overall, I feel Red Sparrow was a 6/10. I can absolutely recommend it if you enjoy grim spy thrillers, or if you are simply a fan of the cast, but if not i'd steer clear as this film offers little else.