‘Heart of Stone’ Review – Flat Plot Has Little Pulse
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
The sole mildly fun moment in the 2023 spy-action-thriller “Heart of Stone” occurs when a spirited African woman offers a lift to two characters in the second-half and a completely random song with the lyrics “Zombie, oh Zombie” plays in the vehicle.
Directed by Tom Harper, the Netflix film “Heart of Stone” feels like a “Mission Impossible” wannabe, boasting a decent budget and intriguing actors. However, the writing by Greg Rucka and Allison Schroeder falls completely flat. It’s just passable enough for viewers to watch the entire film with a straight face, simply to see where things go. Gal Gadot plays titular protagonist Rachel Stone, an intelligence operative who works for an organization called “Charter,” whose existence is like a modern myth, and her mission is to help stop rogue elements from stealing a dangerous weapon with the power to disrupt the world. Sounds a lot like the 2023 spy series “Citadel,” right? Yep! The two stories are so similar in their plot, themes, and exaggerations that those who’ve seen “Citadel” might just want to sleep through “Heart of Stone.”
Surprisingly, the cinematography was one of the weaker links in the film, with many crucial action scenes unfolding either at night or in dimly lit surroundings, which immediately diminished the visual appeal of the fights. Given the far-fetched script about a one-woman army being able to take out an entire gang when even two top MI6 agents couldn’t do it, why bother with realism in the settings and not simply provide viewers with adequately lit shots? The second half of “Heart of Stone” does feature some stunning daylight shots of the snowy, scenic landscapes of Iceland; but the fight scenes are set indoors. The background music helps sustain the viewer’s attention, with the same beats repeating for significant portions of the runtime, creating a sense of suspense and thrill, even if the corresponding scene isn’t as gripping.
Jamie Dornan plays another operative called Parker in the film, and despite a substantial grey role, he simply appears worn out and disinterested, failing to evoke any emotion in the viewer, except for perhaps slight boredom. In fact, with a different actor in his role, “Heart of Stone” could have been injected with more energy than the lifeless vibe it gives off. Matthias Schweigofer plays Charter’s tech genius Jack of Hearts, he is Stone’s eyes on the ground and is constantly swiping fancy screens in the air. You should watch him the heist film “Army of Thieves”, also a Netflix offering which is far more entertaining. Alia Bhatt portrays Keya Dhawan, the tech genius of the villains, who turns out to be nothing but a naive, misguided kid with a troubled past. It’s a significant role, not one of those “blink and miss” cameos some stars do just to have a Hollywood title on their filmography. And even though Alia delivers her role with conviction, too bad that the movie is overwhelmingly mediocre. A slew of other actors also play top operatives, but they are made to bow to the sidelines for Gal’s Stone.
If you had to pick a fatal flaw for “Heart of Stone”, it would the poor choice of antagonist, it’s a half-baked character with an interesting back-story, but still not convincing enough to feel much about his villainy. Ironically, the climactic scene, literally the last one minute of the film featuring Gal Gadot, Matthias Schweighöfer, and Alia Bhatt, was fun and entertaining. You can’t say that about the rest of the story.
Stream the film on Netflix if you are a Gal Gadot fan.
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