Netflix’s latest actioner isn’t the first AI nightmare to reckon with this summer.
A shadowy agency battles against a rogue agent in an attempt to contain an all-powerful, omnipresent AI that holds the power to destroy the world? Sound familiar? Well, it seems no secret that Tom Cruise might have already beaten Gal Gadot to the punch a mere few weeks ago with Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1 – a film which also centres around the impending threat of AI. But this zippy little B-movie is just as worthy of your attention.
In recent years Netflix has carved out a nice little space for these lower-budget action romps – eg The Old Guard, Extraction and once again the streaming service hopes to contend with the latter half of the summer blockbuster season with Heart of Stone. Gal Gadot’s latest spy adventure follows Rachel Stone as she races against time to protect her global peacekeeping agency ‘Charter’ from being hacked. In the words of Ashford and Simpson’s eighties soul classic – Heart of Stone is “solid, solid as a rock”. From the man behind the brilliant Wild Rose (2018) – Tom Harper confidently plays to the film’s strengths and makes the best of the hammy B-movie formula. Harper showcases real directing chops in the action sequences here, blending the high-brow scope of James Bond with the bombastic absurdity of Charlie’s Angels. It’s clear from the offset that Harper recognises what makes the genre tick, staging these elaborate set pieces in-between camp exposition fluff. There’s a great ratio of action to dialogue, which makes the increased cost of your Netflix subscription a little more worthwhile.
Speaking of which, you can really see the money being spent on screen here – which feels like a rarity in the age of three-hundred-million-dollar-plus movies. It seems to cost a lot to make something look bad nowadays – but cashing in at a comparably small sixty-eight million dollars – Heart of Stone is one of the few action movies of this year that doesn’t look like a complete CGI glob. The frequent landscape shots and set design really expand the scope of the film, proving much more cinematic than its recent predecessors. Of course, no film in 2023 is without its heavy CG moments, but Heart of Stone strikes the right balance between “less is more” and “more is more”.
Even Gal Gadot is the strongest she’s been since the first Wonder Woman. After a slew of less than favoured performances, Gadot steps back into a role that seems much more suited to the actress. Stone is a relatively lightweight lead but proves a good foil for the film’s sillier moments. Whether Heart of Stone will be the next franchise-starter Netflix hopes for is entirely up to its viewership, but if Gadot is game for a sequel then bring on Heart of S2one.
Consistently strong direction and creative set pieces help this spy thriller overcome some more glaring issues. Harper embraces the film’s cheesier nineties edge in the right moments, and Gadot makes a solid return to form in the titular role. Though Heart of Stone doesn’t exactly re-energise the genre in any way, it doesn’t intend to and boasts enough great moments to light up the smaller screen.
Written by James Punshon
GEM Magazine 