"Red Sparrow" should have been a good movie. The actors do a wonderful job, the director has shot wonderful scenes but what does all of that amount to with an abysmal script like that? I know that this movie is based on a book which I haven't read so I can't really comment on it but if the movie is faithful to the source material then this book is pretty bad.

Right from the get-go, the plot makes no sense. You are left wondering why would the Russian services act in this manner. As the movie progresses, it becomes quite clear that the author was not after writing an engaging spy-thriller but was rather after portraying the Russians as some sort of evil cultists stuck in the 19th century. I wouldn't have had a problem with that if the story was interesting. Unfortunately it isn't. Combine the typical Hollywood "we're the good guys and they're the bad guys" routine with an awful story filled with plot-holes and you'll get a pretty good idea what this movie is like.

It's not all bad though. The cinematography and the acting are top notch. Hollywood knows how to shoot movies and make them visually appealing. This is enough for some to praise the movie, especially if they are of the opinion, that the Russians are pure evil. I guess that the glaring plot holes are visible to them as well but they just chose to ignore them.