Heart of Stone review: Finally! A formidable female-led action flick ★★★★

August 11, 2023

theversion.co New Netflix action film Heart of Stone is available to stream from today.

Action heroes are a staple of cinema; Indiana Jones, Jason Bourne, Ethan Hunt, James Bond... but try and think of a female one and you might get a bit stuck.

Netflix have teamed with Skydance, the people behind the smash-hit Mission Impossible franchise to launch Heart of Stone, a new addition to the genre with a female lead.

And what a female it is, with Gal Gadot in the role.

Gadot plays secret agent Rachel Stone in the upcoming blockbuster directed by Tom Harper (Peaky Blinders, Wild Rose). But she’s not your average operative — Stone is a member of an elusive and mysterious group of elite spies known as the Charter. In the trailer, they’re described as “the most highly trained agents — no political leanings, no national allegiances — working together to keep peace in a turbulent world.” To achieve their lofty aims, those agents rely on a one-of-a-kind asset called the Heart. “If you own the Heart, you own the world,” Rachel Stone’s MI6 counterpart Parker (Jamie Dornan) explains in the trailer. That sounds like a plan to Keya Dhawan (Alia Bhatt), whose quest to find and control the Heart threatens global stability. Can Stone stop her before it’s too late?

In the opening scenes, the film makes a point. What you could say is a generic, action flick environment, we begin things in an alpine ski-lodge, amidst the stunning mountains. This isn't lazy film-making, this is to make the point that this film, with a female action hero at its core, can do things just as well as the others can. You know you're going to be in for a big ride over the next two hours, and it doesn't disappoint.

Gadot was never going to portray some flimsy, second-rate spy hero. She told Netflix, “It was really important to me that Rachel be a character who can fight, but I also wanted her to be able to use her brain, intuition and emotions,” she told Netflix. “She doesn’t just run in, guns blazing. She thinks about how she’s affecting people and situations. I choose roles that show that women can be beautiful and strong, and none of this is mutually exclusive.”

At the crux of the story, the topic of the moment; AI. “The Heart is what’s called a general AI — an AI that can do anything you want it to do, and it becomes a master of that immediately,” VFX supervisor Mark Breakspear told Netflix. “No one has built a general AI yet. And it’s connected to a quantum computer, which processes way faster than an ordinary computer. The Heart is tasked with monitoring all human data, analyzing it, looking for patterns and then using those patterns to make predictions. The Charter uses the Heart to look at a given situation and help their operatives plan what to do.”

With a decent story, we're treated to some huge set-pieces to compliment. Expect car and motorbike chases, explosions, stunning locations, an epic skydiving scene... yes, there are elements that feel familiar, but I think that's the point here. Why isn't there a female equivelent of Ethan Hunt on screen? Nobody complains about similarities between MI and 007, yet as soon as a female-led version comes along, some lazy critics label it unoriginal.

In reality, we found it really refreshing. Gadot is credible, enjoyable to watch and so likeable as Stone. She stars opposite Jamie Dornan, brilliantly cast as MI6 agent Parker and Alia Bhatt as hacker Keya Dhawan. The Heart of Stone cast also includes Sophie Okonedo, Army of the Dead’s Matthias Schweighöfer, Jing Lusi and Paul Ready.

In a Summer where blockbuster movies are back, Heart of Stone couldn't be better timed. When the nights are drawing in, what a belter of a treat this is to enjoy at home. Turn the lights down, your soundbar up and just go with the ride, because it's an epic ride from start to finish.

Netflix know how to do make a bloody good acion film; 6 Underground, Red Notice, Extraction... and now this beauty.

There's talk of this being the first film in a franchise and we only hope that's right. Heart of Stone will leave you feeling fulfilled and ready for more.

Get the popcorn in and get it on. ★★★★

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