Heart of Stone

Another Netflix action flick with an actress who seems to struggle with showing any real emotion, making it hard for the audience to connect with the film. Netflix just doesn’t seem to learn. As long as people keep watching these, they'll keep churning out the same mediocre stuff. (08/29/2023)

A highly feminist endeavor where all women are at an intellectual and physical mega-level and have no problem hacking an intergalactic station on their way home from work in public transportation, all while defying all laws of physics by jumping six miles above sea level. It's an incredible absurdity that would be at least partially palatable if it were part of the superhero fantasy genre. But it's not. (08/14/2023)

Somehow I don't understand why Netflix tries so hard to compete with big blockbusters when they don’t have the budget and probably not even enough capable directors. Why? Why not keep a low profile and tell the story of a secret agent from a different perspective, make it more intimate, with a more interesting plot? This film has the makings of that, but unfortunately it doesn't get rid of the blockbuster aspirations, resulting in a (traditionally) overlong compromise that didn't offend me, but didn't particularly impress me either, and where Gal Gadot plays exactly like Arnold Schwarzenegger. Seriously, I had that feeling at some point, and couldn’t get rid of it until the closing credits. (08/13/2023)

I really don’t understand these Netflix projects. Why keep making these quick fixes? This streaming platform is not doing well in the spy genre. Last year it was The Gray Man, and this year it’s Heart of Stone. But let’s start from the beginning. Gal Gadot in the lead role neither offended nor impressed. I didn’t really buy her in the battles; when you see her take down enemies much bigger than herself, you start to realize something’s off. The story was incredibly cliché and honestly didn’t have much to surprise me with (except for that one twist, which was executed perfectly). And the action sequences were mostly a disappointment. The ugly CGI (did this really cost 70 million?) was accompanied by uninteresting choreography (only the part in Lisbon was worth it). So, I can’t really recommend it with a clear conscience. You might as well watch something else from the Netflix library. For me, it’s a 4/10. (08/17/2023)