Gal Gadot’s new film Heart of Stone has been savaged by critics who have branded the action thriller a ‘poor woman’s Mission Impossible’ and a ‘joyless rip-off of Minority Report.’
In the Netflix film, the 38-year-old Wonder Woman actress plays international spy Rachel Stone, who is instructed by a mysterious peacekeeping organization known as The Charter.
She’s tasked with stopping a mysterious weapon known only as The Heart from getting into the wrong hands and stars alongside actors including Jamie Dornan and Sophie Okonedo.
However the film’s striking resemblance to Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One, as well as its ‘ludicrous plot’, ‘bland acting’ and overuse of CGI has been lambasted in first reviews.
CNN’s Brian Lowry labelled the film a ‘poor woman’s Mission Impossible’ and wrote: ‘Despite solid action moments scattered over its two hours, this Netflix movie plays like an inoffensive but lifeless addition to the “You might like” feature that, alas, you probably won’t.
Variety critic Owen Gleiberman branded Heart of Stone ‘joyless, convoluted, and sludgy-looking – in short, abysmal’ as he slated the flick for its ‘hollow’ plotline.
He wrote: ‘It feels like a virtual threat orchestrated by a virtual screenwriter. Gal Gadot is game, but there’s a slightly downbeat earnestness about her that doesn’t mesh with the reflexive quippiness of the dialogue
‘What makes Heart of Stone such an enervating experience isn’t that it’s incompetent but that nothing in it matters. It’s all bombast and noise, all hollow logistics, all virtual Minority Report screens and clattering fury signifying nothing. In other words: Time to start planning the sequel.’
New York Times critic Calum Marsh branded the film ‘ludicrous and derivative’ over its ‘improbable’ plot and slammed the sub-par CGI.
He wrote: ‘Even if the computer shenanigans look goofy, they’re more interesting than the movie’s run-of-the-mill spy thrills.
‘A motorcycle chase strikingly similar to the exquisite one from Rogue Nation looks flat and pedestrian by comparison, with dull staging and a corny gag; its knockoff Fallout HALO jump, however, is shameless plagiarism, made all the more insulting by appearing so ludicrously fake.’
Roger Ebert critic Marya E. Gates gave the film a paltry one star while branding Gadot’s performance ‘bland’, Sophie Okonedo ‘lifeless’ and the movie a ‘shallow, artless copy’ of Minority Report.
She said: ‘It’s an overly calibrated hodge-podge of better movies with absolutely no original thought of its own, populated by stock characters, and brought to life with uninspired filmmaking.
‘The lackluster filmmaking does nothing for Gadot, who can kick and punch just fine but cannot emote beyond one bland facial expression. This would maybe be less of an issue if her fight sequences were filmed in a way that highlighted her physical prowess.
‘So, I guess it’s about time we got a soulless film whose entire raison d’etre is to launch a new female-led franchise that also somehow acts as pro-surveillance state propaganda.’
Empire critic Laura Venning gave the film a paltry two stars out of five, taking aim at its lack of ‘originality or flair’.
She wrote: ‘When the action is (literally) grounded in fistfights it’s gripping, but it’s difficult to be thrilled by a blatantly CG-ed skydive.especially when we’ve become used to seeing Tom Cruise risk life and limb.
‘The real problem here is an absence of truly compelling characters, especially the lead; Gadot’s role is too blandly written for her to have anything substantial to grip on to. Despite her efforts, Rachel Stone is about as generic as that name suggests.
‘The stabs at humour are also feeble at best, with the film’s single good gag about a landline the only one to provoke some real laughter. As with the rest of the film, it’s fairly slim pickings.’
Indiewire’s Kate Erbland wrote: ‘The film’s action sequences are beset by jittery, incoherent lensing — someone,, hold a camera steady for even 30 seconds at a time, we beg you — and slightly more legible hand-to-hand combat scenes that lean on incessant bone-crunching sound effects to telegraph the fact that what we’re seeing (or, more precisely, not seeing) is indeed brutal and badass.
‘The film, of course, sets up for a sequel or two, another franchise for the algorithm to chew up, more artificial entertainment to consume, another screen to watch. Next time, we humbly ask, can we get a little more human?’
However Collider critic Tania Hussain praised the film and Gadot’s performance, writing: ‘Once audiences understand what The Heart is and the power it wields, Heart of Stone might look like a carbon copy of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, but it manages to carve out its own identity and charm thanks to Gadot. The Wonder Woman star manages to bring a touch of heart and grace to the type of cliché espionage thrillers traditionally dominated by men.
‘With Gadot exerting such star power in Heart of Stone, her performance is matched most successfully by Dornan as Parker, the MI6 team’s leader. While Parker might seem like he doesn’t appreciate Rachel’s unpreparedness as the team’s tech support, she manages to earn his respect very quickly.
‘This creates a charming chemistry and tension between the two that leaves us curious about their dynamic.’
Hollywood Reporter critic David Rooney also singled out Gadot’s prowess as an action star, writing: ‘As a woman cut from Ethan Hunt cloth, Gadot is in fine form, kicking ass with elegant athleticism but at the same time remaining within the boundaries of regular human vulnerability.
‘Rachel’s bond with her MI6 comrades provides some emotional texture, as does her eventual big-sister vibe with Keya, though it’s refreshing that this is a female-driven action flick in which the protagonist is not required to have a love interest.’
Heart of Stone, directed by Tom Harper (The Aeronauts) from a script by Greg Rucka (The Old Guard) and Allison Schroeder (Hidden Figures), also stars Archie Madekwe and Jing Lusi.
This comes after it emerged Wonder Woman 3 will not be moving forward in the rebooted DC Universe – despite star Gadot claiming the project had been greenlit by studio heads James Gunn and Peter Safran.
Development on Wonder Woman 3 was initially revealed to the public in 2019 and although the movie was greenlit in 2020, director Patty Jenkins was eventually removed from the project after Gunn and Safran restructured the DC Extended Universe.
Now Variety sources report Wonder Woman 3 ‘is not in development at DC Studios nor do Gunn and Safran have plans at this time for any Wonder Woman project in the new DC Universe other than their previously announced Paradise Lost prequel series for Max.’
This comes despite a recent interview from Flaunt Magazine, in which Gadot insisted that Gunn and Safran planned to move forward with the third Wonder Woman film.
She said: ‘I was invited to a meeting with James Gunn and Peter Safran and what they told me, and I’m quoting: “You’re in the best hands. We’re going to develop Wonder Woman 3 with you. [We] love you as Wonder Woman – you’ve got nothing to worry about.” So time will tell.’
Earlier this month Gadot told ComicBook.com: ‘I love Wonder Woman. It’s so close to and dear to my heart.’
‘From what I heard from James and from Peter is that we’re gonna develop a Wonder Woman 3 together.’
In December it was reported that Wonder Woman 3 was scrapped after director Jenkins – who helmed the first two female-led superhero movies – rejected studio notes on her treatment for the sequel which led to her exiting the project, according to The Wrap.
