Red Sparrow

"The history of female led espionage thrillers in Hollywood is not a great one. Typically casting a woman revered for her beauty and body, saddling her with a posh or exotic accent, and assuaging accusations of objectification by having her carry out explicit violence on unsuspecting men, these films each posit the same boring theory: female empowerment is but a kick to the nuts away!"

"Jennifer Lawrence gives a star performance as a Russian spy driven by survival in an espionage thriller that's (gratifyingly) more talk than action."

"A solid espionage thriller that’s lifted by its charismatic leads, Red Sparrow commits to the brutality of its subject matter, meaning it’s never easy viewing."

"The movie’s most shocking feature isn’t any of its twisty plot reveals... but the exploitative brutality it rains down on Lawrence."

"It’s refreshing to see something that exists in the studio system that possesses so many queasily perverse elements. It’s just not quite as seductive as it thinks it is."

"A mix of trashy and classy, "Red Sparrow" is a sleek, juiced-up espionage thriller that overdoes everything: its brutal violence, its dramatic flourishes, its hairpin plot twists, and most certainly its sexpot shamelessness."

""Red Sparrow" defaults to stodgy when its story isn't dishing out the book's explicit sex and violence (including attempted rape), with lines and scenes that feel flat and obligatory alternating with ones that have no trouble holding our attention."

"A pervy premise and top-flight cast yield a mixed-bag spy flick."

"Rather than offering the escapism the spy genre usually provides, Francis Lawrence's film is a brutal plunge into a world of sexual assault and degradation."