Having watched this on a preview screening I have been aware of some of the backlash against this movie...from people who haven't seen it. It seems that Jennifer Lawrence has a few haters for some odd reason and this seems to be colouring the feedback from this movie. Red Sparrow tells the story of a ballerina who by a twist of fate is forced to become a spy. What is different about this movie is that this is a gritty and realistic spy movie, the book was written by someone who had first hand experience of this world. The spies are taught to manipulate through using their bodies which mirrors real life however the online backlash seems to promote the idea this is a sexist idea by the studios. They live and die on their wits, theres no James Bond style gadgets on show. The violence is this movie is extreme and sadistic as it depicts torture. I was very surprised this was not an 18 rating in the UK. However the violence is not one sided, males and females both dish out and receive violence so its gender balanced. The film keeps you engaged and as long as you havent read the story you will be surprised by the many plot twists and turns. This is an old fashion cold war era spy movie which relies on a solid story with great acting and almost zero special effects or overly-choreographed fight scenes and explosions. Its almost the polar opposite of Atomic Blonde, its a spy movie for grown ups and I would recommend it if you enjoy tense movies with good storyline. You may however wish to look away from the screen on more that one occasions.