Director: Tom Harper
Writers: Greg Rucka and Allison Schroeder
Stars: Gal Gadot, Jamie Dornan, Paul Ready
Synopsis: An intelligence operative for a shadowy global peacekeeping agency races to stop a hacker from stealing its most valuable and dangerous weapon.
Of all the streaming services, Netflix has undoubtedly tried the most to create new action franchises. Extraction seems to be the saga with more financial and commercial success, but it’s too short for an entertainment network capable of convincing the biggest talents in the industry to work on the small screen. Heart of Stone is the latest attempt, with Gal Gadot serving as “bait” for the home audience, although the most significant personal interest falls on Greg Rucka – creator of numerous comics for Marvel and DC Comics, as well as The Old Guard, also adapted by himself for Netflix.
With Tom Harper (The Aeronauts) as director and Allison Schroeder (Christopher Robin) helping with the screenplay, the truth is that Heart of Stone manages to surprise viewers with a fast-paced, captivating first half, packed with efficient narrative twists, and in-location action with pretty convincing stunts. As impartial as I can be, I found the Lisbon set piece genuinely impressive not only due to the long, adrenaline-charged chase but also to Mark Eckersley’s (All the Old Knives) editing, which, for those who know the city, creates a pleasantly logical, easy-to-follow path, in addition to showing some essential tourist points of the Portuguese capital.
Even leaving this more personal element aside, Heart of Stone grabs viewers from the start without treating them disrespectfully. The premise could hardly be more formulaic, following dozens of ideas previously seen in so many other films – including an AI system that allows access to all cameras and uses deterministic calculations to predict the future – but, during the first hour, the time is dedicated to the espionage storyline as well as the relationship between the main special agents.
A revelation at the end of this first half will even raise the eyebrows of more experienced viewers, but after this impactful moment, Heart of Stone strangely begins to lose the energy, general interest, and even technical competence of its action sequences. Unnecessary exposition narrated with equally useless images becomes the main storytelling method. Character and plot developments become exponentially predictable and unimaginative, culminating in an emotionally hollow ending. And finally, the action itself becomes too reliant on noticeable fake backgrounds, inconsistent CGI, and over-the-top stunts.
Heart of Stone also lacks any kind of thematic weight, as well as any character arc not driven by bland personal vendettas. Whenever there’s an ideal moment to deepen some conversation, the movie immediately accelerates to the next location and subsequent action scene. This superficiality is even more disappointing when the cast shares commendable chemistry. Gadot is decent enough as the lead, but Jamie Dornan (Belfast) stands out with the most intriguing role of the bunch.
Unfortunately, Heart of Stone doesn’t justify or induce thought-provoking discussions or complex analysis, but it would be unfair not to mention that it fulfills its primary purpose: simple, straightforward, light entertainment to enjoy at home with family and friends on a weekend without plans. Personally, this type of film usually gets a borderline positive review, but a cultural crime prevents me from doing so. I wholeheartedly appreciate the time dedicated to shooting in Portugal, a country with stunning locations for Hollywood cinema, but mentioning that “eating tapas” is part of its gastronomic culture – in yet another example that contributes to the absurd misconception that Portugal is a province of Spain – demonstrates such highly offensive cultural ignorance that I must not and cannot ignore.
