Red Sparrow (2018): Jennifer Lawrence is in a Wrong Movie

Directed by: Francis Lawrence | Produced by: Peter Chernin, Steven Zaillian, Jenno Topping, David Ready | Screenplay by: Justin Haythe | Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Matthias Schoenaerts, Charlotte Ramplings, Jeremy Irons, Ciaran Hinds | Music by: James Newton Howard | Cinematography: Jo Willems | Edited by: Alan Edward Bell | Production Company: Chernin Entertainment | Distributed by: 20th Century Fox | Official Website

6.8/10

Jennifer Lawrence is probably the biggest name to date in Hollywood nowadays. In her 27, she has done many roles that stretch her name to become the A-list star, even got an Academy Award for Silver Linings Playbook (2012). She is pretty much determinated for the role she has been given, although some movies with her in it doesn’t always be a good one.

In Francis Lawrence (not related to Jennifer)’s latest spy thriller Red Sparrow, J.Law again proves herself as one of the most extravagant actress within her frozen and stiff poker face. J.Law here is Dominika Egorova, a talented Russian ballerina from Bolshoi who breaks a leg (literally) during one of her performance. Although J.Law is the most doubtful ballerina dancer I’ve seen in a movie, her rapid change from a ballerina into a dangerous spy is jaw-dropping me. Soon after she recovers from her broken leg, Dominika is approached by her uncle, Ivan “Vanya” Egorov (Matthias Schoenaerts, who looks like a movie version of Vladimir Putin) to be on her first mission: to replace the phone of the cocky and pervert billionaire (not that Orange man, if you think of him). The mission turns into an assassination, and Dominika is once again approached by Ivan to be a “Sparrow”. She is then sent to a “National School” of which she addressed as “a whore school” where she must learn everything she has to know to become a “sparrow”.

On the same school where I think has been attended too by Natasha Romanov or the Black Widow of the Avengers, Dominika is facing pressures from her “Matron” (Charlotte Ramplings) as well as harassment by her colleagues. Her next mission is getting the name of US mole within Russian government from CIA agent Nate Nash (Joel Edgerton).

The pace of the story is going here and there, and the cat and mouse game was never really started. It’s supposed to be the battle of wits between Dominika and Nate Nash, and it turns out to be chemistry-free relationship. The story pays most of its running time on Dominika’s background story, on how this little young heroine who has to pay her mother’s treatment becomes a dangerous spy who’s willing to use her everything, including her body, to accomplish the missions. However, the background story also takes the attention away from who-should-be-outwit-whom main plot. It also didn’t give Dominika the perfect character development she needs to be a perfect heroine, but yet it gives us the torturing galore. The scenes where Dominika is douzed by freezing water while naked, beaten and tied to a chair will be there to traumatized you.

I almost think it would be a 2018 version of Atomic Blonde (2017), but it’s just going nowhere. Charlize Theron’s Lorraine in Atomic Blonde is a dangerous spy who enjoys herself doing some killing missions, yet J.Law’s poker face dominates most of Red Sparrow’s story, tries to convince us that she is strong enough to kick butts but ends up in a confusing relationship with the CIA agent and her own uncle.

Meanwhile, the top-notch casts are successfully performing their role well. Most of British actors, like Ciaran Hinds and Jeremy Irons were successfully kicking the Russian accents, as well as adding some tastes in this movie. Jennifer Lawrence, on the other side, still makes most of her movie that doesn’t live up to her talent.

The movie is 21+ in Indonesia for most of nudity, violence and sex scenes so please be a wise audience with not bringing your children watching this. Whether you will stay for the torturing scenes are live up to your own preference.