Ben Oliver

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Red Sparrow

The Cold War did not end, it merely shattered into a thousand pieces.
21 May 2018

A Russian ballet dancer (Jennifer Lawrence) gets recruited by an intelligence agency to get the name of a mole off a CIA spy (Joel Edgerton). She goes through a special training school where they teach people to seduce others for information.

The prospect of a sexy Cold War spy thriller with Jennifer Lawrence seems quite appealing; who doesn’t like spies and boobs?

Prepare to be disappointed. This isn’t a Cold War film. No one does much spying. It’s not even really a thriller. It’s just the same old ‘what side is she on’ premise you’ve seen a thousand times, except without any of the suspense.

There are boobs in it though so it’s got that going for it. Which is nice.

I’m starting to feel bad for Jennifer Lawrence, who hasn’t really had an outstanding script since her breakthrough in Winter’s Bone.