Red Sparrow (2018) combines elements of cerebral spy thrillers like Tinker Tailor SoldiervSpy (2011) and Spy Game (2001), with chick flick sensitivities and tropes, and a liberal dash of 1970 cinematic exploitation.

Jennifer Lawrence seems miscast in the role of a Bolshoi ballerina. While deserving applause for having the self-confidence to disrobe for the camera, she lacks the taut musculature of a professional dancer, especially a prima ballerina. At 175 cm, she's above the height limit for many ballet companies. She's pretty in a girl-next-door sort of way, but doesn't have the stunning, haunting beauty of an archetypical femme fatale or the physical strength to defeat an athletic attacker who seems to outweigh her by twenty-five kilos, even armed with makeshift brass knuckles. Her fans may consider her performance subtly nuanced, but others may find it one-note, or possibly two-note: I am hurting inside and angry at the world, and I am hurting outside and angry at the world. Natalie Portman underwent rigorous training for Black Swan and reportedly cut twenty pounds from an already trim frame. She looked every bit the part of a prima ballerina. Lawrence doesn't look, act or move like a dancer. She doesn't even stand with the poise of a dancer. She was good in Silver Linings Playbook (2012), as a quirky girl-next-door, but that's her look, a chick flick rom-com heroine, like Sandra Bullock or Doris Day. Pretty, but not stunningly gorgeous. Feminine but not super hot. An actress mid-American women can relate to, without feeling threatened.

Charlotte Rampling plays the headmistress of a school which trains young men and women to seduce and betray foreign officials. It seems reminiscent of movies from the 1960s, like Our Man Flint (1966). Repeat after me: I am a pleasure unit. My sole purpose is to provide pleasure to my master. The students wear proletariat work clothes, until instructed to strip naked and engage in sex before the class, at which point the female refuses and the matron tells them it's okay, they can learn to pick locks instead. The students are cautioned never to reveal their true names, even if one is a celebrity that everybody recognizes.

The plot is actually very good, with plenty of artifice, shifting allegiances, misdirection, betrayal, etc. The film has a strong recurrent theme of betrayal. The protagonist is deceived and betrayed, then wreaks revenge by becoming a master at deceit and betrayal. Strong performances by Joel Edgerton, Matthias Schoenaerts and Jeremy Irons. Good production values. Refreshing lack of distracting jiggly-cam shots.