2/5 Stars

Based on a 2013 novel, “Red Sparrow” features Jennifer Lawrence (“mother!”) as Dominika Egorova, a former Russian ballerina forced after an accident to do some shady dealings for her uncle, Ivan (Matthias Schoenaerts, “Far From the Madding Crowd”), that involves seducing a man. When that fails, he forces her to join a school for Red Sparrows, young men and women who specialize in using seduction to get close to their targets.

One positive aspect about the film is Jennifer Lawrence. Her character dominates the film, and while her Russian accent is flawed, she emotes in all the correct ways. Even when she seems more stone faced, her facial expression changes through her eyes in a way that one can almost tell what she is feeling, whether it is anger, fear or pain. Other times, she seems so calculating that viewers can just barely tell she is struggling to hold onto her humanity.

Unfortunately, most of the other cast members do not stand a chance against her. Joel Edgerton (“Suicide Squad”) plays CIA agent Nate Nash, but he is given little dimension and ends up just being Dominika’s lover. During the film, he speaks of someone he had to defend from his Russian enemies because he felt close to him, but that subject is only touched upon in that one conversation. Also appearing in the film are veteran actors, such as Charlotte Rampling (“Assassin’s Creed”) as the headmaster of the Red Sparrow school and Jeremy Irons (“Justice League”) as a Russian general, but neither of them are able to add anything to the film. Perhaps the only other standout besides Lawrence is Schoenaerts as Ivan, who makes the whole atmosphere of the film suitably uncomfortable in nearly every scene he is in. Because of that, it is all the more disturbing when his character relishes in his incestuous desires for Dominika.

What gives the film promise is the suspenseful first scene that cuts back and forth between Dominika’s ballet performance and Nash’s escape from Russian police. While the orchestra in Dominika’s ballet builds up, so does the tension of Nash desperately trying to find an escape route. The climax of this scene suitably sets up both characters as a significant part of the story. It is a setup that is not followed through, at least in Nash’s case.

The main plot involves numerous Russia vs. America politics that get so consumed with information that if viewers do not keep up with just a couple of details, they could easily get caught in a trainwreck of misinformation and confusion. It all comes down to too many twists and turns to make an audience care about what is happening. Putting aside comparisons that have been made with Black Widow’s backstory in “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” Dominika’s predicament and mission to be free of her oppressors are the easiest parts of the film to follow and invest in. Other than that, “Red Sparrow” is a film that has most of what could make a good spy thriller but ends up being quite poor.

Image from 20th Century Fox via YouTube.com