The movie is about a Russian ballerina who is forced to become a “sparrow” by her corrupt uncle, who is high in the KGB, so that she can keep her nice apartment and have decent healthcare for her sick mother. A “sparrow” is a Russian spy who is highly trained to use sexual coercion (on top of the usual spy techniques). There are some twists and turns, lots of brutality, and sex scenes.I sent it back die to it being the wrong regionGreat movie and showed up in record time.Great story, superb acting, lovely directingFour stars. (I use my own system for rating and four stars is a very good rating from me)RED SPARROW was a dark, intelligent, suspenseful, complex, well-crafted movie. My expectations were for an intricate story about a character that intrigued me and that’s what it delivered. Excellent movie and yes, I've pre-ordered it.The premise is that the Cold War never ended, just splintered and spread. A branch of the State espionage organization that uses seduction for political purposes trains its operatives (‘sparrows”) at a place known as State School 4, or “Sparrow School”. The protagonist, Domenika Egarova, played by Jennifer Lawrence, her career brought to a premature, treacherous end, finds herself in circumstances with no options other than joining the ranks of the sparrows.Given that subject and the rating, don’t expect PG-13 Hunger Games. Or James Bond, for that matter.There has been a fair amount of chatter about the nudity. Some have commented that there was violence and torture and that's true (it IS a story about espionage and bad people), I found none of it gratuitous, exploitative, or excessive. It was brief, used with restraint and incidental in the telling of the story. I think the director achieved the intense, visceral impact of those scenes without the gallons of gore or gruesome explicitness that many movies mistakenly substitute for "grittiness" or "realism" - and that takes skill. Lawrence remains one of the more covered young actresses working in the entertainment industry. No close-up b**b (trying to stay within community standards) shots wedged in to woo that particular target audience, which I often find annoying not because of prudery, but because they’re so obviously marketing-motivated, not story-motivated. Frankly, there is more bare jiggle in most frat house so-called comedies and most of it’s pointless. Bond movies have all of that too; just glamorized, stylized and fanciful. This isn’t a “Jane Bond” movie. This movie’s tone aims for a grittier realism.As for Jennifer Lawrence, I think she’s an impressive talent and I like her range and her presence. She holds the screen and plays her character as smart, willful, with her own enigmatic agenda; victimized by other characters and the system, but she’s no victim. Is she playing them or being played? Who is she playing and when? I wasn’t sure which side she would end up on.The supporting cast was strong also. Another that stood out to me; Charlotte Rampling’s ice-cold, matter-of-fact (outrageous, considering the school curriculum) sparrow school matron has the kind of line that will probably catch on in pop culture (“Every human being is a puzzle of need…”). Matthias Schoenaerts’ (the actor playing Domenika’s uncle and deputy director) resemblance to Putin is inescapable. Jeremy Irons, Joel Edgerton, Joely Richardson, and Ciaran Hinds rounded out the cast with fine performances. Mary Louise Parker pops in as a senator’s chief of staff; I always liked her. Francis Lawrence is back as the Director. I like his style of storytelling and he and JL make a good actor/director pairing.Growing up, I loved action and spy movies; just never related to or had much interest in the female roles of the times (distressed damsels needing rescue, chick-of-the-flick, or occasional near-competent sidekick. I found them boring or incidental and I’d rewrite them in my head.). Seldom if ever as the central character, driving the story. I still love action and suspense movies and I’ll add this one to my list. Lawrence continues to impress me with the roles she chooses and what she brings to them. She has an admirable and varied body of work, still at a very young age. I’m looking forward to seeing more of it. Gotta give her props; she's a self-made lady. Personally, one sign that a movie has definitely made the grade for me is when it’s over and I still wonder what comes next for the characters.I DO wonder… and I’m STILLl not sure which side she’ll end up on….Definitely recommend viewing.Just because it was not a movie I enjoyed does not mean it wasn't a good movie. It was dark and gruesome, but definitely pseudo-educational. As far as intrigue, there was never any doubt about where her true loyalties were. You'd have to ignore half the dialogue to not be sure which side she was on (spoiler example, she wasn't interested in targets she would have to sleep with, as stated by the matron out loud for all of us to hear, yet she chose to sleep with the American after a discussion about trust). I laughed when she called it "whore school," I'd been thinking they should rename the movie to Prostitute School. One point that seemed to be like a plot point was her male student attacker. If he had so little control over himself he would not be in this elite group of super-spies. His job was to control others but when he has no self-discipline I don't think he could. That type of personality can control certain people with violence or mental abuse, but not the type of people that would be international spies on the opposing side he would be seducing.Also seems to me all the spy problems would be solved if they could be abstinent while on the job. Or if you really loved your country, become a eunuch before becoming a spy, then no one can manipulate you since spies are so obviously manipulated by sex. Her little twist at the end was well planned for someone who didn't seem too likely to have planned all that much. Glad it worked out but other than to get the story done I don't see where she thought it up and how she thought she could pull it off. Maybe I wasn't watching closely enough, I mean, we did see all the steps, but I didn't see the catalyst for her plan coming together. It was chance, it seemed. Maybe it was just her back up plan.Also, at the beginning, the other girl's jaw? That's not what she would have been swinging for. I doubt the other girl would have walked again.And for personal philosophy, any infant can hold a sharp instrument and cause harm. You put a knife in the hand of a doctor or nurse and they have the skill, patience, and self-sacrifice to have learned how to heal with it. I can see why the world's currency is power, and those who have it would not willingly give it up. But even this story, it can't deny that the true power people have is to help and heal each other. The wife who hadn't had surgery when needed changed the course of the lives of so many. There are always petty people doing petty things, but the true leaders of the world are the scientists and doctors, even our presidents have to listen to them some of the time. People who strive for the greater good of humanity instead of identifying with smaller groups that struggle for power against each other are the ones to whom the future belongs.Excelente película trama y actúacionesFive minutes or so in I realized I had seen it or maybe parts , in any case I enjoyed it. Such a sweet revenge story and I will say no more,,!!Red Sparrow is the story of a ballerina who gets injured and is recruited to the Russian secret service to act as a seductive agent to trap foreign agents. Jennifer Lawrence plays the title character in a very dour almost caricature Russian who is both manipulated and manipulative, but as a supposed seductress she does not do very much seduction. In fact the film is violent with two episodes of torture and sadistic violence. There are very good performances from Jeremy Irons and Charlotte Rampling as well as Ciaran Hinds, but what the film lacks is any tension and for a spy thriller the plot doesn't hang together to well. As a viewer you lack empathy with the lead character which gives you no investment in the characters or story which leaves you with a rather detached uninvolving film.A few changes from the book, unsurprisingly. What works on the page doesn't necessarily work on the screen. One change I like is the dropping of Dominika's synaesthesia, and as I'm nearing the end of the second novel in the trilogy, I get the distinct impression that the author rather wishes he hadn't introduced it in the first place. Locations have changed as well; the heart of the novel takes place in Helsinki, whereas the film shifts it to Budapest. A few characters have been dispensed with, but again it's a film, not a novel, and as the novel introduces a lot of characters, some with multisyllabic Russian names, and frequently delights in acronyms to identify or refer to them this, too, is a positive change. I like the pacing, the casting, settings and design, and I feel it's a film that continues a fine tradion of espionage thrillers stretching back some 60 years. I'm enjoying seeing characters I've recently become acquainted with on the page being depicted on the screen.Ce n'est pas un film d'espionnage style James Bond ou Mission Impossible.Ici pas d'explosions à répétition ni de cascades toutes plus spectaculaires les unes que les autres.C'est film d'espionnage à l'ancienne je dirais.Chaque personnage a des choses à cacher et on ne sait jamais vraiment si on peut faire confiance à un personnage ni quelles sont ses motivations réelles.L'histoire devient de plus en plus complexe tout au long du film ce qui maintient les spectateurs en haleine.C'est un excellent film avec une Jennifer Lawrence froide et sensible à la fois. Forte et fragile selon les circonstances.Les scènes ou Jennifer Lawrence apparaît nue ne sont pas gratuites comme dans un vulgaire film érotique.Les images sont superbes mais assez ternes parfois ce qui donne un beau style à ce film.J'en avais entendu beaucoup de bien et je n'ai pas été déçu par mon achat.Au niveau des bonus, il y a le commentaire audio du réalisateur (classique et assez intéressant dans son ensemble) et quelques scènes coupées (également commentées par le réalisateur).I am surprised that there any any negative reviews about this film. It is not to be compared with spy movies such as Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy or Bridge of Spies.Red Sparrow follows the gripping story of a ballerina girl who suffers a serious injury and ends up training as a spy, working for her nefarious uncle. The film boasts continuous action, intrigue and twists leaving you on the end of your seat.Thankfully, the movie is easy to follow, but make sure you prepare your pot of tea or open your bottle of wine beforehand, as you are not going to want to stop or pause this film.Good acting generally, and nice to see Jeremy Irons making a contribution. Above all, the film presents a chilling and frightening rendition of what some of communist Russia may have been like...This was better than I had expected from reading critics' reviews – but that doesn't mean that it's a very good film. In many ways it's a routine spy tale of who is double crossing whom, with views of a few European cities thrown in. The back story of the lead character's career as a ballerina cut short, and her ill mother, is really just padding and not interesting except insofar as the family background motivates her later actions in a particular way. Various big name actors eg Jeremy Irons, do what are essentially cameos with accents. The grizzled American CIA man is a rather feeble character, making only a feeble show of suspicion before falling for his beautiful counterpart. Jennifer Lawrence naturally looks good at all times even after being savagely beaten etc etc, but physically is an unlikely ballerina. She certainly looks Slavic, and has the required hauteur for the role.