RED SPARROW – Rated R – 2 hrs. 19 mins

RED SPARROW – Rated R – 2 hrs. 19 mins

Director:  Francis Lawrence (HUNGER GAMES, I AM LEGEND) 

Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Charlotte Rampling, Mary-Louise Parker, Joely Richardson, Matthias Schoenaerts and Jeremy Irons

As we meet beautiful ballerina Dominika Egorova (Jennifer Lawrence) her world has been shaken to the core, when her ballerina dreams are ended, just as they had begun.

Searching for a way to keep her and her mother in the lifestyle they’ve grown accustomed to, Dominika decides to go undercover, entering the world of THE SPARROWS, as she soon learns how to use her feminine wiles to get anything she needs or wants, from anyone in her path.

When she crosses paths with American CIA agent Nate Nash (Joel Edgerton), Dominika falls hard and fast for this American, who returns the favor by trying to figure out a way to make her Sparrow days numbered, with getting her out of Russia, and more importantly, out of the hands of her disgustingly vial uncle and fellow Russian operative Vanua Egorov (Matthias Schoenaerts).

But the question is…is anything that Dominika or Nate are doing on the up and up?  Or are they just following the directives of each of their employers, while providing “undercover service” to one another, just to pass the time…?

I give RED SPARROW a rating between MUST SEE ON THE BIG SCREEN and WAIT AND CATCH THIS FILM ON DVD:  It was truly fabulous to see Lawrence on the big screen again, and playing a much more provocative role than we’ve ever seen from her before.  Edgerton is expertly cast this time around too, playing the CIA agent that wants what’s best for his country, and the women he falls hard for as well.  Rampling is also very intense in her role as “Sparrow Instructor”, and when you add in the small, but intricate roles of Schoenaerts, Parker and Irons, this is one spy thriller with a storyline that keeps you guessing until the very last frame hits the screen.  So, with all these accolades, why the less than perfect review??  From the long, and drawn out sequences in “sparrow school”, learning how you should conduct yourself as “a lady” or maybe just “a lady of the night”, for no good reason than to see exactly what Ms. Lawrence has to offer…to the graphically disturbing violence throughout, which doesn’t truly add to the storyline, this spy film just wasn’t as smoothly crafted as I so hoping it would be, since Director Francis Lawrence, has directed Ms. Lawrence three times prior, for her stint in the HUNGER GAMES series.  And I really wish that would have had Jennifer work as hard on her Russian accent, as they did on providing all the sexual encounters throughout this film, as it’s hard to take her seriously as a high-profile Russian agent, when her accent keeps going in and out throughout the entire film too.  Suffice to say, it’s entertaining if you enjoy really graphic violence, and a sneak peek around every turn of both female, and male nudity, but as female spy films go, this one can’t hold a candle to last year’s ATOMIC BLONDE, even with Jennifer providing a lot more skin, than Charlize did, the whole way through.

Kathy Kaiser