1. It’s Jennifer Lawrence’s boldest performance yet

Lawrence stars as Dominika Egorova, a Russian ballerina forced to join the intelligence service as part of an elite group known as “sparrows”, who use their sexuality as a weapon. The role meant that, in some scenes, Lawrence had to go places she’s never been before, both in terms of psychological discomfort and physical explicitness. It’s an impressive turn, for sure.

2. It’s a Hunger Games reunion

While we’re obviously well beyond “young adult” territory with this dark thriller, this is the first movie that Jennifer Lawrence and director Francis Lawrence (no relation) have done together since The Hunger Games series drew to a spectacular close in 2015 – he directed three of the four films. This fourth collaboration between the two makes it clear they have a fantastic working chemistry that produces powerful results.

3. It’s a proper spy movie

Red Sparrow gets deep into the nitty-gritty of real-world spy work – there are no daft “Meester Bond” antics here. It’s based on the novel by Jason Matthews, who worked for the CIA and based the book on his own experiences (it was even praised for its accuracy in a review on the CIA’s website). Matthews joined the production as technical advisor to help keep things rooted in reality.

4. It’s got a killer cast

Not literally. It doesn’t keep things that real. But with The Great Gatsby’s Joel Edgerton (pictured) playing a CIA agent who falls for Dominika, Belgian star Matthias Schoenaerts (The Drop) as her ruthless handler, Oscar winner Jeremy Irons (Their Finest) as a Russian general and Charlotte Rampling (45 Years) as Dominika’s cold-hearted mentor, it has tonnes of dramatic heft.

5. It’ll keep you guessing right to the end

Agent, double agent or triple agent? As you’d expect from a good spy flick, Red Sparrow keeps you in the dark as to Dominika’s true motivations – right up until the moment all is revealed during a truly tense climax.

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How to use it

First, set up your account quickly and easily at virginmediastore.com. Once that’s done, if you have a Virgin TV box, you can buy and watch hundreds of films and TV Box Sets via the Virgin Media Store app on your box. Alternatively, if you’re not a Virgin TV customer, you can buy and watch via the Virgin Media Store website and do everything through that. Simple!