Red Sparrow 2018

I've watched over 10 movies with Lawrence, which is nearly a half of her filmography to date, and her acting was the best in this one. The Russian accent she did was pretty accurate, making her sound quite different from her normal self.

Watching this the day after Atomic Blonde, another spy movie with a female lead, Russians and plot twists, and knowing Joel Edgerton's role in The Gift, I sometimes questioned the main character's allegiance (though I always leaned towards her hating the Russian past and thus choosing the Americans; I also guessed the person she'd give away).

There were some noticeable inaccuracies in the portrayal of the Russians, like in the beginning where the road patrol service ("DPS") were chasing a guy for something other than a traffic violation, and they were called militsiya, despite having been renamed to police a couple of years ago. I also don't think there are schools of the sort the movie showed, but I don't mind the idea, because I understand that it's not a documentary, nor does it even have a line that says "based on true events", and the gist of the plot is in line with how the Russian government sees its citizens. It's also true that women have been used to get in bed with and discredit the opposition there. Regardless, the movie isn't that political, and it's more of an emotional thriller about trust and betrayal that happens to revolve around Russia.

8.3/10

I will readily admit, I was initially just interested in this movie because of Jennifer Lawrence.

The beginning was a tad bit slow, but don't let that deter you. The rest of the film you will be trying to catch up to what is going on. I will need to see this a second time to begin to understand all the intricacies of the plot, which was unpredictable (my favorite characteristic of any plot).

Throughout, the intentions of Dominica are never clear. She seems to genuinely serve both sides, and yet, equally betrays both sides. I don't think she cares about anyone but her mother. Even the 'love' she shows to Nate, turns out to be a means to an end. I personally loved that I could not tell what was in her head because it kept me guessing.

Some of the acting felt disingenuous, but the main leads (especially Lawrence), were astonishing. The soundtrack worked well, and there really wasn't any 'fake' action to take away from a beautiful plot.

By the end of the film, you will be confused beyond all reason. Lawrence's character developed into a psychopath - a product of the system she was put in.

Wow, this latest Jennifer Lawrence "movie" is a lifeless slog, complete with horrible, uninteresting leads, unrecognizable bland locations, improper direction, lack of an emotional connection, and feels like only an edgy teenager would consider "artsy" because it's slow and quiet. Who the hell made this?

looks up the director's filmography

Oh, that explains a lot.

I know I keep giving mainstream movies a hard time. We're living in an age where blockbusters, like Black Panther, are superficial and lazy committee projects used to sell products to the general public. But then on the other hand, you got this stuff like Red Sparrow that just turns off said masses from the more original and creative small projects. I know this isn't a small movie, but it's an original movie not tied to some cinematic universe. The issue is, this movie's a piece of shit. It's the dilemma Downsizing and It Comes At Night had with audiences: being lousy "art" movies that are miss-marketed to a mainstream demographic. Doing this shit is only driving people back to the "safe" movies made by Disney. When people are dropping over $10 on a ticket, your film better match up to that selling price. There's a reason Black Panther is winning the box office right now, because people would rather trust a certified movie like that, than take a risk with a shit movie like this. I guess my incoherent rambling just boils down to... stop making bad movies? I don't know, my mind is spinning right now. Black Panther is undeniably a more coherent and gratifying experience, so they got me there, but at the same time, it's barely above this. Quality control has definitely been abolished, I will say that. These studios view something like Red Sparrow as the answer to the pleading call from losers like me, for more original projects. So, they don't care what it is or how good, just that it's the answer. We're already on the road where the only profitable movies will be the spectacle Disney movies, full of action and product placement. They infect all the months around them, so none of the smaller movies stand any chance. Only the few meme movies that Reddit and the Oscars pick up stand a chance at making an impact. Why else does Chris Hemsworth keep choosing to play Thor instead of doing other movies? Because they don't make as much money, and most of them aren't good movies either. Maybe cinema has always been like this, a handful of movies each year are worthwhile and the rest just aren't.