Review of Red Sparrow (2018) by Ken S — 03 Mar 2018

This sequel to Atomic Blonde is a decidedly more somber affair. Let's face it: the spy genre has nowhere to go. If the past few years' entries haven't demonstrated that unequivocally, Red Sparrow certainly will remind you of the fact. That's not to say there can't be some fun in watching Spectre, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation or the aforementioned Charlize Theron vehicle. Whatever Red Sparrow is, I wouldn't call it fun, but it certainly is interesting. Much like writer Justin Haythe's last film, A Cure for Wellness, it has garnered a lot more critical derision than I would say it deserves, and neither of these films try to be crowd-pleasers in an attempt to make up for it.

While it isn't as obtuse and subtle as Thomas Alfredson's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, there isn't an unnecessary non-linear narrative structure here to give off a false sense of sophistication like in Atomic Blonde or more recently Annihilation. It's a very straightforward story of espionage that vilifies modern Russian information warfare and tactics while ruminating on sexual power dynamics. It's filled with characters who are, for the most part, honest about their intentions and motivations, eschewing the coyly deceptive pretenses that are all but requisite in spy thrillers. This is refreshing enough that it keeps one engaged despite the relatively slow pace and lack of action set-pieces.

What it lacks in action it more than makes up for with titillation. The post-Fappening era of Jennifer Lawrence's career has seen her utilizing more of her thespian assets than before, and the movie makes no bones about finding reasons for her to disrobe. One can imagine that The Hunger Games franchise director Francis Lawrence jumped at the chance to finally one-up Darren Aranofsky in the aspect of filming JLaw like a leering pervert. After all, the movie is about how she uses advanced seductive techniques to serve the Russian state. That coupled with the silly Russian accents definitely gives the film a sexploitation edge that makes it hard not to snicker from time to time despite everyone being repressively sad. I can see why some movie goers were not satisfied with it, but for a movie that doesn't try to be anything more than it is, Red Sparrow is sufficiently enjoyable.