Red Sparrow lets its potential fly away home
Jennifer Lawrence starring as a prima ballerina turned Russian spy will hook you in, but all of the slick action and espionage doesn’t quite equate to a must-see thriller, with Red Sparrow weaker than the sum of its parts.
When we meet Dominika (Lawrence) she is the star of the Russian ballet, but a terrible accident leaves her in need of help to pay for her sick mother’s care. Enter her uncle Vanya (Schoenaerts), a high ranking member of a Soviet intelligence agency who sends her to Sparrow School, where she will learn to use her body as a weapon and manipulate people by figuring out their deepest needs.
C.I.A. agent Nate Nash (Edgerton) becomes her first mark, but as the film progresses Dominika’s allegiances are constantly up for debate, with the audience never fully sure which side she is playing.
