I’m sure that, as the years roll by and the movie credits rack up, stinging criticisms of the films you star in hurt less.

Will Smith recently spoke about this in the wake of Bright, and he has been around the block.

Maybe J-Law has reached a similar place in her career, but I’m willing to bet she’s not digging the fact that her new movie is taking a pummelling online.

We’ll start with the Red Sparrow review on the New York Post, titled “Jennifer Lawrence flounders in atrocious ‘Red Sparrow’”.

Ouch – get a look at the opening:

“Do you know how long it takes to peel the skin from a human body?” a torture-happy Russian goon asks in “Red Sparrow.” I imagine it feels about as long as sitting through this atrocious spy thriller, in which Jennifer Lawrence plays a prima ballerina who goes to whore school.

Does it get better from there on out? Spoiler alert, it doesn’t:

…there’s little to recommend “Red Sparrow” — a throwback to old Hollywood in its belief that gratuitous rape and violence are the best way to create a heroine with backbone.

We now jump to the end of this epic takedown:

There will be double-crossing. There will be a hilariously bad sex scene. And there will be (gag) flaying.

A decent eleventh-hour twist isn’t enough to redeem what’s come before, which the film would have you see as a righteous indictment of Russia’s corruption and misogyny. Too bad it resembles countless bad sexploitation flicks set right here at home.

Safe to say that reviewer was not a fan.

We did show you the trailer back in January, but let’s save you a click and plonk it below:

If it’s more bad reviews you’re after, you’re in luck. Rolling Stone:

The film’s sadistic streak leeches the fun out of the script that Justin Haythe has adapted from the novel by former CIA operative Jason Matthews. Otherwise, the spy plot seems like a rough draft of something John le Carré tossed in his reject pile; there’s more exciting spycraft in 10 minutes of The Americans than you’ll find in the entirety of this turgid twaddle.

To finish, here’s the Guardian sticking the boot in:

The direction feels flat and passionless at times and while there are some impressive panoramic vistas, other stuffier scenes are so overly, clumsily lit that they’re clearly taking place on a set…

It remains largely impossible to emotionally invest in Lawrence’s character (the remoteness, while effective, prevents us from feeling like she’s a real person) and though Edgerton is solid as always, their relationship is even harder to care about…

What will audiences make of Red Sparrow? It’s a tough sell: a bleak two-hour-plus Russian thriller with graphic rape and torture.

Yeah, given today’s #MeToo climate it’s probably not a great look.

[sources:nypost&rollingstone&guardian]