Despite the film's tone being a mixed bag and the storyline being a little difficult to follow, there are some very praise-worthy elements. There are great performances and James Newton Howard has composed one of his best scores in a very long time. I've been a fan of his for quite some time and his msic here is gorgeous. There are certain scenes and particularly the openingthat feel so enthralling and a lot of it has to do with his score. Red Sparrow is frustarating film. I would say that I liked half of it and the other half I had a difficult time grasping. And not because it was confusing, it's just that the film builts a fence around it until the final moments, where you can't really get in. You're just watching something that looks and sound beautiful.