Heart of Stone Review: Netflix spy action thriller film stars Gal Gadot as Rachel Stone, Jamie Dornan as Parker, Alia Bhatt as Keya Dhawan, Sophie Okonedo as Nomad, Matthias Schweighofer as Jack of Hearts, Jing Lusi as Theresa And, Paul Ready as Max Bailey, and several others. Directed by Tom Harper, the story is by Greg Rucka. Greg co-wrote the screenplay with Allison Schroeder. The cinematography is by George Steel, and the music is composed by Steven Price.
Heart of Stone Review Contains No Spoilers
In Netflix’s Heart of Stone, Rachel Stone is a spy agent from “The Charter” who works as a hacker for MI6. Her colleagues Parker, Yang and Bailey are unaware of her real identity. Rachel, called the “9 of Hearts” at the Charter, is one of the agents responsible for ensuring that the Heart is safe. The Heart is a quantum computer that can hack into anything and anywhere in the world. It can control, predict and cause any harm.
As seen in the trailer, Keya Dhawan wants to get her hands on The Heart. Rachel has to stop her, risking her identity at the MI6 and her life. Why does Keya want The Heart? Will Rachel succeed in stopping her? We find out everything in the end.
The first 15 minutes of Heart of Stone movie on Netflix is Rachel, Parker, Yang and Bailey teaming up and catching a bad guy. The entire sequence is shot in a snow-clad region; you just have to wait for it to make sense. I’ve seen several spy thrillers so far, and I know they must be discreet and blend normally in a public place if they are looking for someone. But the agents here have stiff and aggressive body language. That’s when we have Keya commenting that they weren’t even subtle in their mission.
The opening/introduction to characters requires patience and is easily forgettable. But the narrative becomes engaging when another mission comes up, and we see Rachel chasing Keya. While Rachel carries the typical trope of a spy agent who’s serious, gives blunt and sarcastic answers and is always in fight mode, Keya plays an amusing rival. Keya not only uses her tricks to cause trouble but also flaunts her wit. The initial conversations between Rachel and Keya will make you chuckle.
The very first twist comes almost after 45 minutes. It’s a good and unexpected twist that makes you curious about the outcome. There’s another villain who loves killing people like it’s no big deal. But what amazed me is The Charter, which also has employees like Nomad and Jack of Hearts, cared to send help to Rachel only in the end. I know Rachel is the hero of the story. But isn’t it too much pressure on just one person to save something as big as The Heart?
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The last hour has more action, fewer talks. Like any spy action thriller, we see our agents fighting with guns, knives and explosives. There’s an aerial fight sequence which is quite odd. Rachel wears a flying suit to stop the bad guys. To put it nicely, it looks like an oversized low-budget inflated Batman suit. George Steel’s camera follows Rachel in that scene, but it isn’t a pleasant sight.
The action sequences are not extraordinary, but they aren’t bad either. The plot never gets intense as Rachel seems less of a spy and more of a superhero who can tackle every obstacle in her way. But Gal Gadot’s screen presence is quite good, and the locations keep changing, which is a treat. Such spy action thrillers are predictable, so there was no surprise in the climax. The best thing about the movie is the music. Every song played in those 2 hours made the movie fun to watch.
Regarding performances, Gal Gadot has played a superhero in Wonder Woman, so playing a spy hero must’ve been a cakewalk. She did an okay job in terms of action and fight sequences, straight face, and no-nonsense dialogue delivery. The premise had no emotionally heavy scenes where she had to leave her comfort zone. Alia Bhatt plays a 22-year-old Keya Dhawan, and knowing that she’s 30, you can see her trying to act like someone in her early 20s. She tries to bring reactions a 22-year-old individual will have regarding moral dilemmas. From being a smart hacker in the beginning, to behaving naive (dumb) person in the end, her performance deteriorates.
Actor Jamie Dornan has played Parker quite well. He should have gotten more screen time to shine, as his character is such. Actors Sophie Okonedo, Matthias Schweighofer and others play their parts well.
Heart of Stone Review: Final Thoughts
Overall, Heart of Stone doesn’t offer anything out of the box as it follows the typical themes of action movies. But you will be hooked on the mission to find Keya’s reason for getting her hands on The Heart and whether she does. It is better than Citadel, which had no head or tail regarding the narrative. HoS is an ordinary spy thriller with great music in it.
The movie is releasing on Netflix.