Buzz Review Of Red Sparrow: Your Basic Russian Spy Film?

When you a take spy film and make it as realistically grounded as possible, there is a likely chance that you could end up creating something radically different. This was the case of Red Sparrow, and in this case “radically different” was not so bad. Red Sparrow was a wonderful rendition of your typical Russian spy film, but without the exaggerated escapades and unreal shenanigans we all love to watch. My buzz review of Red Sparrow is a witness’ account of a film was grounded, true to the details, and averagely brilliant.

Red Sparrow leverages itself by placing a major focus on the insecurity of the human mind. The plot gives a vivid retcon on what it truly means to be a spy, and the sensitivity of information in the world today. The last time I saw a film like this was in 2012, the James Bond film; Skyfall. Although, Red Sparrow does not come close to being better than Skyfall, it seems to have the same level relevance.

From the art of seduction, to extreme human manipulation, the film had it all. However, in a bid to buttress the point that human beings were simply vessels of desire, there was some level oversimplification of human actions which honestly made me cringe. Imagine a world where spies use their bodies as sexual weapons – yeah, you get the point. Simply put, J-Law was a vessel of sexual destruction. However, for those who asked me, if this was similar to Atomic Blonde, no it was not.

Red Sparrow has an interesting cast line up – the kind of cast you would not dream of seeing in a film together but somehow film director; Francis Lawrence made it work. Jennifer Lawrence delivers a stellar performance as Russian Spy; Dominika Egorova. Joel Edgerton (Nathaniel Nash) low-key makes his role work…somehow, Matthias Schoenaerts (Egorov) did nothing but disgust me. Jeremy Irons (Korchnoi) was ever brilliant in his appearances,  and Charlotte Rampton (Headmistress of Sparrow School) serves an award-worthy performance that could almost rival Judy Dench from the James Bond Films. If it was a comparison my buzz review of Red Sparrow would be a complete slaughter.

Even with the understanding that Fox was trying to avoid plot holes (what they do best), Red Sparrow was excruciatingly long, it was almost depressing. I was able to text five people during the film and I still understood what was going on. To crown it all, we were given a villain that was way too simple. The only thing that made Matthais Shoenarts the bad guy was that he was the one with power, and honestly, that was not enough.

I ended up only liking Red Sparrow for being a such a daring deviation from the regular spy film tradition. No doubt this film will be divisive among critics. In fact, I expect a few of them like Diary of a Movie Lover to come for my head after this. I believe Francis Lawrence was trying to create something unique, but ended up creating a film tailored to specific type of audience. A film like this could only be accepted when done right, and Red Sparrow could have been better.

Let me know what you think about my buzz review of Red Sparrow in the comment section below;

Buzzers Concensus:

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Official Synopsis of Red Sparrow:

Prima ballerina Dominika Egorova faces a bleak and uncertain future after she suffers an injury that ends her career. She soon turns to Sparrow School, a secret intelligence service that trains exceptional young people to use their minds and bodies as weapons. Egorova emerges as the most dangerous Sparrow after completing the sadistic training process. As she comes to terms with her new abilities, Dominika meets a CIA agent who tries to convince her that he is the only person she can trust.

Official Trailer of Red Sparrow:

Summary

Reviewer

Enioluwa Awopejo

Review Date

2018-03-03

Reviewed Item

Buzz Review Of Red Sparrow

Buzzer's Concensus

3