Netflix’s latest attempt at a movie collapses like a house of cards, and its ridiculous 1/2 star rating of 4 indicates that the movie has fallen out of favor. Best known for her role as “Wonder Woman,” Gal Gadot took center stage as Kingsman in the secret world peacekeeper. Weapon of choice? A new AI that appears to specialize in media.
In an attempt to follow the success of Tom Cruise’s Mission: Failed series, The Heart of Stone combines the clichés of spying with the direction of Tom Harper. Despite Gal Gadot’s acting skills, charming charm, and unapologetically honest demeanor, he couldn’t save the ship.
Meet MI6 expert Rachel Stone (Gal Gadot), who fights the urge to become a secret agent. Led by the humble Parker (Jamie Dornan), he takes a liking to her when her team engages in a battle during a mission in the Italian Alps. Surprisingly, what started as a docile mouse, Rachel has grown into a superhero who can fight, shoot, drive and even skydive like a seasoned pro.
The movie’s attempt to build this world involves a mysterious spy named “Charter” as Rachel adopts the nickname “Nine of Hearts”. Oh, the irony is. Relying on the all-powerful Jack of Hearts (Matthias Schweigerfel) to provide real-time AI updates on the track and the number of villains, he solves missions behind his teammates.
As if our sketchy psychic metaphors weren’t enough, Rachel’s feelings for her MI6 friends add another layer of embarrassment. Get ready for something terrible – it creates emotions!
The film plunges into deeper tension when Rachel discovers an Indian assassin named Keya (Alia Bhatt), whose thefts threaten Charter’s omnipotent wisdom. Get ready for a cliché world tour from Lisbon to Iceland and finally a showdown in the skies of Senegal.
The daring of this movie, which tries to squeeze a complex explanation into just two hours, knows no bounds. The basic idea of a secret agent with mixed abilities would be interesting if the movie did its best to make every conceivable spy trope. It’s as if the producers threw these elements into the machine, no sense of direction, they’re ruining the epic cinematic.
Heart of Stone didn’t fail, it failed. This is a complete disaster. The film’s flawed theory hinders character development and world-building, leaving Rachel Stone a mystery whose story is only revealed in pieces. The emergence of Netflix A-list movies continues unabated – remember the embarrassing pairing of Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds in “Red Alert”?
While Gal Gadot’s efforts to add the greatest glamor to the film are admirable, they fail to lift the stone this movie’s train wreck leaves behind. Gal Gadot tries to bring the humble super-spy to life, but his performance is ultimately suppressed by a tangled plot like a Jackson Pollock painting.
Finally, the hero of Hearts of Stone may have a “heart”, but his emptiness and lack of focus cause more torment than pleasure. If you’re looking for a heart-pounding movie, you’ve found it – not in the way you expected.
