TL;DR – A shallow experience that never finds its feet.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this film.

Heart of Stone Review –

We have seen many different films attempt to capture the allure that James Bond has over the spy genre. In fact, in the last year, streaming services alone have tried Citadel, Ghosted, and The Gray Man, to name but a few. But all of them have fallen flat. However, there always is a chance that the next attempt will be the one to land, and this is what we are looking at today.

So to set the scene, it is the Italian Alps and Rachel Stone (Gal Gadot) and her MI6 team are targeting Europe’s biggest arms dealer. Stone is just a tech assist, but this mission forces her into the field when she needs to hack a phone to let Parker (Gal Gadot) and Yang (Jing Lusi) deeper into the complex. However, when things go to pot, we discover that Stone is no lowly tech analyst and is not just playing for MI6. She works for Charter, a clandestine spy organisation that works above national borders. But who watches the watchers?   

Well, okay, this is not good. However, it is not a complete loss. For example, they at least understand that visiting various cities and landscapes makes for an excellent visual landscape. The actors are fine; they are not given much to work with but are doing their best. The same can be said for the action that is at least watchable.

However, I rarely met a film that purports to have something profound to say and then has absolutely nothing to say about it. We get phrases like “the end justifies the means” or “the greater good” meaty topics to analyse and explore, and nothing in this film progresses more than a fundamental surface-level analysis. It is frustrating how little this film analyses the topics it attaches its whole narrative to. I have read first-year introductory essays with more substance than this.

Then we get to the film as a whole, and the entire time I was watching it, I felt like I was watching elements of better films. The HALO jump reminiscing from Fallout is the most noticeable element. Even though it was a HAHO, a helicopter could not get that far. But the rest of the film made me want to watch the Bonds rather than watch another outing.

In the end, do we recommend Heart of Stone? Alas, not. Was there potential here? Absolutely. Did it make it to the final product? Unfortunately, not. I have seen worse films in my times, but rarely so shallow. If you liked Heart of Stone, we would recommend to you The Diplomat.     

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Have you watched Heart of Stone?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day. 


Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Heart of Stone
Directed by – Tom Harper
Screenplay by – Greg Rucka & Allison Schroeder
Story by – Greg Rucka
Music by – Steven Price
Cinematography by – George Steel
Edited by – Mark Eckersley
Production/Distribution Companies – Skydance, Pilot Wave, Mockingbird Pictures & Netflix
Starring – Gal Gadot, Jamie Dornan, Alia Bhatt, Sophie Okonedo, Jing Lusi, Paul Ready, Jon Kortajarena, Archie Madekwe, Matthias Schweighöfer, Enzo Cilenti, Uriel Emil, Diana Yekinni, Allan Hyde, Anna Andresen, BD Wong, Glenn Close & Mark Ivanir
Rating – Australia: M;