A comic book veteran co-writing a kickass adventure starring Gal Gadot as an overpowered character? Well, this may not be that superhero sequel but Heart of Stone shares the same energy.
The latest Netflix action flick was written by Greg Rucka—who worked on some DC Comics stories including, yes, Wonder Woman—and Allison Schroeder, who’s the co-writer of Hidden Figures, which earned an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.
In Heart of Stone, we follow the international woman of mystery Rachel Stone (Gal Gadot)—boom, semi-title drop—who runs, bikes, and flies around the world to retrieve a highly sophisticated piece of tech called “The Heart.” On the way, there are enemy agents trying to thwart her every move. Should the AI device fall into the wrong hands? Destruction!
But will the audience be just as invested as Rachel in this super spy chase?

The supporting cast deserve more screen time
Agent Stone works with an MI6 team who are not just reliable on the field but great company when downing drinks. We get to hang out with the entertainingly extra Agent Yang (Jing Lusi), who always pulls up in designer gear even when it’s raining bullets, and Agent Bailey (Paul Ready) who is always blasting Fleetwood Mac and other classic hits while driving the getaway car. And then there’s Agent Parker who’s got that “will-they-or-won’t-they” flirty dynamic with Rachel.

The downside is that there are not enough MI6 squad moments where they’re all working together. We wouldn’t mind just watching more of the team doing mundane stuff in between the missions such as Yang starting up a dance party or Bailey talking about his cat.
There are some quips and jokes thrown in between the mayhem which sometimes fall flat. While there’s some flirtation going on, thankfully, the movie doesn’t focus on any sappy romance, although there is some considerable unnecessary simping from Jamie Dornan’s character.

The big action scenes are popcorn.gif worthy
The movie begins with a literal “cold open” as Agent Stone, Agent Parker, and their squad suit up in winter clothes and fight their way through the snow. The missions are immersive with the shots getting more chaotic as we get closer to the action. It’s even more impressive when our heroine Agent Stone runs up on a group of enemy soldiers as a one-woman team. (Just like a certain superhero goddess.)
The stakes are high and the stress is real
Without revealing too much, Heart of Stone isn’t afraid of “unaliving” key players to emphasize the risk involved in the mission. Not even star power and plot armor can protect all these characters.

AI technology is exuding Main Character Energy in yet another action movie
With AI remaining a controversial topic and even playing a big role in the last Mission Impossible movie, the infamous tech makes an appearance in this film.
The Heart tech is used as an AI guide for agents like Stone while navigating the battlefield. Her colleague, the Jack of Hearts (Matthias Schweighofer) is the so-called “guy in the chair,” who pinpoints enemy location, all possible entry points, and the success rate of each mode of action, which is shown through a video game-style heads-up display (HUD). And sure, it seems cool at first, living the shooting game life and all that, but through Agent Stone’s POV, the movie questions the freedom of choice and the overreliance on technology.

Agent Stone’s tendency to go rogue, despite computational advice, creates minor conflict with her boss Nomad (Sophie Okonedo), who insists on following The Heart. The hacker Keya Dhawan (Alia Bhatt) takes advantage of the agency’s dependency on a giant supercomputer, posing a threat to the whole operation, triggering the events of the film.
Can Heart of Stone satisfy our need to see Gal Gadot step on us, er, suit up as a superhero?
Heart of Stone gave us brawls, bullets, and boom—explosions! One of the highlights is Gal Gadot flying solo and throwing hands at everyone who stands in her way. Agent Yang and Agent Bailey are some of the fun characters to look forward to plus some entertaining antagonistic interaction between Agent Stone and Keya and Parker trying to rizz it up. There are also some famous stars who make a surprise appearance.
Plot-wise, there are also some interesting twists and turns which exceeded expectations. (Can you figure it out before the reveal?)
Heart of Stone proves that Gal Gadot doesn’t need any kind of shiny armor (except plot armor) to look like a badass superhero because her general vibe throughout the film just screams “don’t-f*ck-with-me” so we will simp over this super spy from a distance.
Heart of Stone is now showing on Netflix
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