Reviewed by Victor Rebikoff.
Director: Francis Lawrence, 20th Century Fox, MA 140 Minutes.
This lengthy spy thriller from Francis Lawrence, the director of three of ‘The Hunger Games’ movies, is a return to the cold war thrillers of the ‘80s and sees him teaming up with lead actress Jennifer Lawrence (no relation) again.
Unlike her thrilling heroine portrayal in ‘Hunger Games’ Lawrence opens her performance in this brutally violent production as Russian ballerina Dominika Egorova before breaking her leg and being recruited as a spy.
A member of the Russian Intelligence, Dominika’s uncle Vanya (Matthew Schoenaerts – ‘Disorder’) blackmails her into becoming a spy and attending the Red Sparrow School to ensure payment of the medical bills for her sickly mother Nina (Joely Richardson – ‘Fallen’) are maintained.
At the spy school Dominika must live up to the strict requirements of the ruthless Matron (Charlotte Rampling – ‘45 Years’) whose primary mission is to ensure male and female recruits use their minds and bodies as weapons of seduction.
Having completed her training, Dominika is transformed into a femme fatale tasked with tracking down CIA agent Nate Nash (Aussie actor Joel Edgerton – ‘The Gift’) with whom she later enters into a sexual relationship.
Nevertheless this does not stop Nate attempting to persuade Dominika to become a double agent and work for the CIA, despite being informed by Russian General Korchnoi (Jeremy Irons – ‘Assassin’s Creed’) of the existence of a Russian mole.
What transpires next, once Dominika reports this critical information to her superior Zakharov (Ciaran Hinds-‘The Woman in Black’), is exposed in a startling development during an exchange of spies between the Russians and Americans.
Francis Lawrence’s adaptation of Jason Mathews’ 2013 novel (a former CIA operative) has resulted in a complicated storyline that includes an excessive number of brutal scenes besides being somewhat long in reaching its surprising conclusion.
Although many of Jennifer Lawrence’s movies are enjoyable experiences this appears not to be the case in ‘Red Sparrow’ where her powerful portrayal as a Russian spy comes over more as a sex object subjected to male-dominated mistreatments.
At the same time this is offset by the convincing performances from Edgerton, Irons and Rampling.
Red Sparrow is to be televised on 7 FLIX on Saturday 26 March at 8.30pm.
Vic’s Verdict: 3 ½ Stars
