Judge Dreads movie review: The Red Sparrow

The Quick & Dirty:

Rating 2 / 5
One-liner: I felt like I was in a waiting room

The good:

• Production Value

The bad:

• Immersion
• Acting

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Red Sparrow is about the best Ballerina in Russia turned spy in order to provide for her disabled mother. She has an accident and cannot do ballet any further. Her uncle whose in the KGB (My assumption, the organization was never named in the film) promises to take care of the financials but she must become a spy for the state. She passes a few tests and ends up on a training ground for Sparrows.The movie has some gory moments but it’s mostly very serious and slow.

The Good:

• Production value (3/5): Despite the editing and acting shortcomings, the camera angles, locations and color grading all worked together to support the movie. They had done well enough not to become a distraction. Only thing is during in the middle of the movie, I was starting to get spatial confusion due to the similar looking interiors between scenes.

The Bad:

• Immersion (1/5): The pace of the story felt like I was sitting in a waiting room. I could hear the sighs of my fellow patrons as if they were waiting for their names to be called so they sigh and turn the page of the magazine they picked from the table. I blame the editing directors for leaving so many dead spaces in the film drawing out scenes made me have to think back to realize movies in the 80s and 90s did that. Gave you a whole lot of time to think. Nowadays we find ourselves fighting the impulse to pull out our phones during such lulls.
• Acting: 2/5 I blame the directing staff for this. The movie Felt Amateurish: The lines were delivered like actors who didn't practice their lines before the scene and the directors accept that but it’s more likely that’s what the directors wanted. I recognize they're trying to depict an oppressive regime but I find it hard to believe that people don't smile at all in Russia and that all of their conversation between each other seems obligatory unless, of course, they're a spy trying to seduce their mark.

All in all, I think Jennifer Lawrence can do better. The movie didn’t do her any justice (except that her appearance was what I would call super smash worthy) but talent wise, I think this movie fails to showcase her acting range. I left the movie feeling like if this movie were a youtube video, people would flag it for being clickbait because the trailer promised a bomb and delivered a dud. However, I did find solace in the fact that my movie ticket was only $4 (Thanks, T-Mobile Tuesdays!).