Heart of Stone – Netflix Review (2/5)

HEART OF STONE on Netflix is a new spy thriller with Gal Gadot in the title role and a stellar cast. The story is interesting but lacks intensity and passion in its execution. A shame really. Read our full Heart of Stone movie review here!

HEART OF STONE is a new Netflix movie that feels a lot like other Netflix blockbuster productions. The movie may have an amazing cast, a lot of action scenes with crazy shots, and a story that spans the world.

Yet, there’s something missing. For me, it’s a passion or a deeper level of intensity. A spy thriller with Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman) in the title role should be good entertainment. Especially with the amazing casting in even the smallest of roles. However, no actor can make this production better, when it’s desperately predictable in so many ways.

Continue reading our Heart of Stone movie review below. Find it on Netflix from August 11, 2023.

A typical Netflix action thriller

When people complain there’s nothing on Netflix, I always disagree. There are so many wonderful productions, but the best are often made far away from Hollywood. These action thrillers tend to have a “paint by numbers”-story where you know the ending before you push play.

It’s not that this story isn’t interesting, because it is. Apart from the very AI and Machine Learning-focused story, it feels like a James Bond movie from decades ago. Back when everything was just too predictable and everyone was very good or very bad.

Hero versus villain but without the necessary nuances. Sure, we get a back story for the villain, but even that seems like something we’ve seen so many times before.

Gal Gadot as a different kind of Wonder Woman

For the record, I really like Gal Gadot, and I absolutely adore her as Wonder Woman. However, this character also feels like someone just saw the opportunity to showcase Gal Gadot as an alternative Wonder Woman. One that is a strange sort of hybrid between Wonder Woman and Mission Impossible‘s Ethan Hunt.

While Gal Gadot is as charming as ever, it just doesn’t work the way it should.

Jamie Dornan also does what he does best – being both charming and strangely dubious – but it doesn’t really hit home. Then there’s Matthias Schweighöfer as a nerdy IT guy, and he also delivers what is expected of him, but to no real avail. Even the wonderful Sophie Okonedo as the direct boss of Gal Gadot’s Rachel Stone aka “9 of Hearts” seems to be off.

Again, all of these actors are wonderful in everything they do, but here they just feel strangely restricted somehow.

Watch Heart of Stone on Netflix now!

Tom Harper is the director of Heart of Stone, but if you’ve watched any of his previous movies, it’s not like you’d recognize his style. Previously, Tom Harper directed the acclaimed movie Wild Rose (2018) which resulted in multiple award nominations for its star, Jessie Buckley. Earlier, he also directed The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death (2014).

Also, Tom Harper directed episodes of wonderful series such as Peaky Blinders and Electric Dreams.

The screenplay for Heart of Stone comes from writers Greg Rucka and Allison Schroeder, which should be a good thing. Greg Rucka wrote The Old Guard and Allison Schroeder wrote Hidden Figures. However, while the story is as good as many other spy thrillers, it comes across as strangely lackluster in execution. A shame with such a wonderful cast.

Then again, if you’re looking for mindless entertainment that is often fairly predictable, then do check it out.

Heart of Stone is on Netflix from August 11, 2023.

Details

Director: Tom Harper
Writers: Greg Rucka, Allison Schroeder
Stars: Gal Gadot, Jamie Dornan, Jing Lusi, Paul Ready, Alia Bhatt, Matthias Schweighöfer, Sophie Okonedo, BD Wong, Glenn Close, Jon Kortajarena, Mark Ivanir