Heart of Stone

I'll keep this review ultra brief as there isn't a whole lot to say about the newest Netflix action venture, Heart of Stone, starring Gal Gadot. As is typical fashion with these Netflix films, they're met with an unnecessary amount of vitriol, simply for existing, but they're not incredibly fantastic either. Some are better than others (I liked The Gray Man quite a bit, for example) but this is 2023 and there is stiff competition in the action space. 

John Wick, Ethan Hunt, Dominic Toretto, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and even fellow Netflix-dude Tyler Rake have all left a mark with some jaw dropping action spectacles this year. If you're going to be a violence-and-stunts oriented film right now, you better bring the heat. Quite simply, Heart of Stone doesn't. 

It's not outright terrible, but it's utterly forgettable, despite being a very obvious attempt to make this a new James-Bond-esque franchise, complete with opening credits and song. All over the place, there's things that have been done better before. The script is charmless, making even Gal Gadot seem like any other actress (how dare you!). The action is dull in comparison to what we've seen in recent months, featuring special effects that can be impressive one moment and horrendous the next, taking you completely out of it. And, let's be real, in a year where Keanu Reeves is running and rolling and Tom Cruise is driving motorcycles off cliffs...what hope is there for your CGI brawl? The story is just there...about AI, and feeling like it was written by AI too. 

There's not much in Heart of Stone, even for Gal Gadot fans. It'll be background noise while you scroll your phone and it's ultimately harmless, but 2023 is probably one of the worst years to phone-in an action film, especially if you're trying to make it the next Bond series. 

Rath's Review Score | 4.5/10