It’s time to for the Red Sparrow blu-ray review, I rate Jennifer Lawrence highly as an actress and whilst I don’t always find her films subject matter the most interesting, Joy (2015) I’m aiming that one at you, she rarely puts in a bad performance.
So with that in mind I decided it’s time I took a look at Red Sparrow (2018) that recently released on bluray a few weeks back. I missed this one when it was shown in cinemas so I’m eager to take a look, in short it’s an espionage thriller set in Russia. So is this one worth your time?
- Red Sparrow (2018)
- Genre: Thriller
- Directed by Francis Lawrence
- UK Rating 15
- Discs: 1
- Released By 20th Century Fox
- Blu-ray Released: 9th July 2018
Plot
When a talented Russian dancer Dominika Egorova (Jennifer Lawrence) suffers a career ending injury she faces the prospect of being thrown out of her apartment she shares with her sick mother. Worse still the Russian state are going to remove the healthcare for her mother. Enter Ivan Vladimirovich Egorov her uncle a SVR agent that recruits her into the Sparrow school, a place in which Russia trains its best spies.
The film is directed by Francis Lawrence with the cinematography handled by Jo Willems. I must say this is a very stylishly made film, for example the opening sequence is perfectly executed with two storylines switching between each other all timed to perfection against the music. The look evokes the look and feel of cold war Russia as indeed it should. Hats off to both the director his director of photography for producing an exceptionally bleak but genre perfect world.
Music / Audio Effects
The music is provided by James Newton Howard and as you might expect evokes the feelings of Russia. It certainly suits the espionage thriller that Red Sparrow of course is.
Acting / Characters
Jennifer Lawrence continues to impress with her range of acting and Red Sparrow is yet another string to her bow. She makes for compelling viewing even if the plot is not exactly to your liking. Here she plays Dominika Egorova a young woman recruited into the Sparrow School that trains spies.
The support cast of Joel Edgerton and Matthias Schoenaerts do a pretty good job of helping to keep you intrigued as to which way Jennifer Lawrence’s character will turn.
Cast
- Jennifer Lawrence as Dominika Egorova
- Joel Edgerton as CIA operative Nate Nash
- Matthias Schoenaerts as Ivan Vladimirovich Egorov
- Charlotte Rampling as Matron, the Headmistress of Sparrow School
- Mary-Louise Parker as Stephanie Boucher US Senator’s Chief of Staff
- Ciarán Hinds as Colonel Zakharov
- Joely Richardson as Nina Egorova
- Bill Camp as Marty Gable
- Jeremy Irons as General Vladimir Andreievich Korchnoi
- Thekla Reuten as Marta Yelenova
- Douglas Hodge as Maxim Volontov
- Sakina Jaffrey as Trish Forsyth
Conclusion: Red Sparrow Film Review
Red Sparrow is a very stylish and well made espionage thriller with another outstanding acting performance from Jennifer Lawrence. That said I was never really totally convinced or compelled by the storyline. Jennifer Lawrence’s character seemingly goes from an amateur to expert Sparrow in the space of 10 minutes, she’s cold and controlled but the timeframe of this change all seems a little bit ridiculous.
I would however say there’s enough in the story if you are willingly to stay with it past the two hour mark to make this a different and interesting spy story.
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Conclusion: Red Sparrow Blu-ray Review
The films pretty much brand new having only being released in earlier this year so as you would expect there the picture quality is flawless. On the extras front there’s good mix of interviews with cast and crew.
Extras
- A New Cold war: Origination & Adaptation (12 mins)
- Agents Provocateurs: TheEnsemble Cast (15 mins)
- TradeCraft: Visual Authenticity (13 mins)
- Heart of the Tempest: On Location (11 mins)
- Welcome to Sparrow School (12 mins)
- A Puzzle of Need: post Production (14 mins)
- Director Commentary
- Deleted Scenes
A very stylish and well made espionage thriller with another outstanding acting performance from Jennifer Lawrence.
Red Sparrow (2018) Blu-ray
Red Sparrow (2018) blu-ray is available now from Amazon.
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Popcorn Cinema Rating: Red Sparrow (2018)
MOVIE RATING: WELL WORTH WATCHING
BLU-RAY RATING: EXCELLENT
POPCORN CINEMA: RECOMMENDED
Red Sparrow (2018) Trailer
For those of you yet to see the film I’ll leave you with a little taster…
Clip may not be representative of the blu-ray version
That’s concludes my Red Sparrow blu-ray review, if you have any thoughts on this film you can leave them in the comment section below:
Summary: Red Sparrow (2018) Blu-ray Review
Movie title: Red Sparrow (2018)
Duration: 140 mins
Director(s): Francis Lawrence
Actor(s): Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Matthias Schoenaerts, Charlotte Rampling
Genre: Thriller
- Movie Rating
- Blu-ray Picture Rating
- Extras
Summary
A very stylish and well made espionage thriller with another outstanding acting performance from Jennifer Lawrence.
