6.5-7/10 -- This film is engaging, even for as long as it is, with fine acting all around and some real gut-wrenching moments. I must admit to having turned my head away several times. It is a horribly violent film, much more so than I expected. The positive aspect of that violence is that very little of it is gun-based, which makes it feel much more genuine to me.

There were some aspects however that I feel were unbelievable. I've never broken my leg, but I bet if I had, I wouldn't be able to wear high heels three months later, or bend my legs and sit up on my knees. I actually cringed during these parts thinking about how painful it should have been, yet the character indicated no pain. Good acting on her part? I don't know, but the other more unbelievable part was a major plot point. It surprised and had the desired effect, but stepping back through the story, it just seemed unlikely to have happened. Too convenient.

This all is in addition to my general complaint of movies that set themselves in non-English speaking countries and then have all the characters speak English with each other with the accent of that country. I thought we were done with this. I understand watching a 2+ hour movie with foreigners speaking Russian is impractical, but then it leads to the question: Should Americans be telling this story? Of course, this film is not going to come out of Russia, and that is why we have to give some allowance here. It just ends up feeling a bit comical when two Russians in Russia are talking to each other in English. Are other viewers not fazed by this?

Those points aside, it was an engaging film. It was refreshing to see women portrayed as strong, intelligent and cunning, and not driven by romantic love. Love is important to the story, but not in a typical way. That itself makes it worth the time. The beginning scenes were cleverly and masterfully edited. Definitely the best part of the film, but the rest is worth a watch too! If you are not expecting a masterpiece but want a fine espionage film with a strong female lead, "Red Sparrow" should tick all the boxes.