"Every human being is a puzzle of need. Learn how to be the missing piece, and they will give you everything." Thus begins the undercover life of a former ballet dancer turned reluctant Russian agent, dumped by her influential uncle into a vicious and cutthroat spy facility, debased in training there, and dropped into the middle of a succeed-or-die espionage entanglement involving a Russian mole and the American CIA.

I almost didn't watch this because of the negative reviews here. It's clear to me now that they were either written by people with ulterior motives or by people who are squeamish when it comes to the kind of violence, danger, language, and sexuality potentially involved when navigating the highest levels of international espionage.

Terrific story with twists, turns, betrayals, torture, and resilience at almost every turn. Jennifer Lawrence is incredible, the supporting cast is terrific, and the story is tight and intricate. A superb ending rewards those who lived on the edge of their seats for much of the 2:20 runtime, and if you found you needed to rewatch the shocking last 10:00, so did I.

Is it brutal and shocking? Absolutely. Is it for everyone? Absolutely not. But this is a thrilling spy story told with "no holds barred" and if that's in your wheelhouse, you need to see this. A solid and surprising 9.