An action film with Gal Gadot and Matthias Schweighöfer? “Heart of Stone” actually brings the two very different film stars together in front of the camera. As Wonder Woman, Gal Gadot has amply demonstrated that she can do action. But Matthias Schweighöfer?
All right, a spoiler first: Schweighöfer doesn’t play a cool, wise-cracking Bond lookalike or anything in that price range in this Netflix action thriller. Schweighöfer is Jack, a computer genius who mainly does his job at the Charter headquarters. Schweighöfer is currently riding a wave of popularity (especially in the USA). Since his delightfully entertaining heist comedy “Army of Thieves”, Americans have obviously developed a crush on the German blonde, who doesn’t have much to do in “Heart of Stone”, but continues to cultivate his very German accent (in the English original), which actually has a high recognition value. No wonder he capitalises on this popularity and makes his presence felt. Presence increases market value. Otherwise, his role is largely limited to being the little man in the ear of agent Rachel Stone (Gadot), whom only she can hear when she can give free rein to her true identity.
So Gal Gadot is Rachel Stone. Rachel is a member of a four-person team of MI6 agents who (in true Bond fashion) bring down the really big bad guys. For example, an arms dealer who they are supposed to arrest in a private club in a small town in South Tyrol and bring back to the UK. Rachel is the computer specialist, the hacker and something of a mascot who is looked after by the other three because, unlike them, Rachel is not an agent for dangerous field operations. She is the one who stays in the shadows and uses her skills to digitally watch her comrades’ backs. However, after the arrest of the arms dealer gets a little out of hand, it’s time to release the real Rachel. And that’s where the little man with her ear comes into play – via radio, of course, because somewhere in London this same Jack is sitting at the console of a computer whose processor is called the Heart of Stone. The Heart of Stone is a supercomputer that every secret service would probably like to have in its possession. The Charter, however, is a private secret service that has set itself the task of standing up for the good, but in doing so infiltrates services such as MI6 in order to position agents like Rachel there. Rachel’s problem: she has to arrest these arms dealers somehow – and she must not be seen by her people.
Gal Gadot’s Character
“Heart of Stone” doesn’t bother with long introductory speeches. In keeping with the Bond tradition, the film starts with a juicy action sequence that is swiftly staged and doesn’t even give us time to question the meaningfulness of the story. In any case, Rachel is established as a cool (but likeable) heroine, and that’s all it takes to kick off the actual plot, which centres less on the aforementioned arms dealer and more on the titular heart of stone. During her mission in South Tyrol, Rachel is approached by a young Indian woman who apparently knows exactly who she and the heart of stone are. Why does she approach her and then go into hiding? This is revealed in the course of the plot. But one thing is clear from the outset: there are people out there who know about Charter and her supercomputer – and who are definitely after this computer and the secret intelligence service. You don’t need a super computer when you want to have fun, as online casinos are always with you, whether on your phone or laptop. However, choose only reliable casino sites, such as https://slotozen-online.com/.
“Heart of Stone” is the kind of action film that would have been shown in the cinema ten or 15 years ago as a matter of course. In Tom Harper, the production company Skydance has made an interesting choice for the director’s position. Harper can work with larger budgets: in 2015, he directed the lavish six-part film “War & Peace” for the BBC, but otherwise he has never been seen in action-driven cinema or television. His direction is straightforward and a little old-fashioned, which should not be seen as a negative criticism. Of course, “Heart of Stone” is also a film in which CGI experts have been allowed to let off steam. But this is not “Fast & Furious”, i.e. a performance show of higher, faster, further. The action in “Heart of Stone” generally takes place at eye level with the protagonist, who not only has to dish it out, but also take a lot of punishment. “Heart of Stone” is also not a breathless non-stop action firework à la “Tyler Rake”. The story doses its action very carefully. This gives Gal Gadot in particular the space to establish herself as a real protagonist with strengths and weaknesses.
Action Sequences, Direction, and the Changing Landscape of Film
The fact that films like “Heart of Stone” are no longer shown in cinemas is “the fault” of Netflix and the other streaming services that commission cinema films ([Heart of Stone]] is one such service), but then literally dump them on their platforms. Why go to the cinema for a film of this kind (with well-dosed action, nice show values and a likeable heroine) when Netflix brings the film home as a flat rate? Unfortunately, “Heart of Stone” is just too small for a big blockbuster. It is absolutely understandable that cinema operators are not happy about this development – especially in view of the poor cinema summer of 2023, which had to endure the failure of many a supposed blockbuster – because, to repeat: just a few years ago, “Heart of Stone” would have been a cinema film “for in between”. A film that you knew would not explain the meaning of life or deliver mega-show values – but would have made for an enjoyable evening at the cinema.
But times have changed and now the film is on Netflix.
On the positive side, there is the leading actress and the largely straightforward staging of the action scenes. The story of Charta may seem a bit like a B-edition of “Kingsman”, but the director skilfully manages to gloss over this through the use of the actors and actresses. In addition to Matthias Schweighöfer, who plays his role flawlessly, this is mainly thanks to the British actress Sophie Okonedo, who leads the British line of Charta in the role of Nomad. Nomad is a cover name. Who she really is, however, plays no role. Sophie Okonedo acts shirt-sleeved; without this ever being mentioned, there is no doubt that this Nomad knows more than just the work behind the desk. In order to make Charta seem at least a little mystical, the production has brought in Glenn Close, a grande dame of American cinema, who embodies precisely this mysticism in her performances as the head of the American Charta.
On the negative side, there is a break after the first act of the story. This first act presents a four-person team of agents in which the characters really do act remarkably “real” with each other. Without knowing them, there is an immediate sense of camaraderie, even friendship, between them. The affectionate interaction with Rachel in particular reveals that these characters are not cool super agents (or even killers). They are a tight-knit group. When Rachel does come to their aid, she repeatedly negates Jack’s instructions from afar to protect Rachel and is prepared to sacrifice the other agents (who are not his). Rather than listen to Jack’s voice, Rachel would rather take the risk of being exposed if that’s the price of saving her people.
Conclusion
This ensemble character carries the plot through the first act. The staging here is certainly modelled on the films in the “Mission: Impossible” series, which are tailored entirely to their lead actor Tom Cruise, but which make you feel a great love for his sidekicks. However, this ensemble character ends abruptly at the beginning of the second act. Dramaturgically, this makes sense without giving away any details. However, this break also reveals that the entire first act is really just the prologue to the actual plot, in which the focus is now entirely on Gal Gadot’s Rachel. This is a shame, because the initial ensemble character is refreshing and completely unexpected.
Despite this break, “Heart of Stone” otherwise does its job flawlessly by following the most important rule of filmmaking: You must not bore. Of course, “Heart of Stone” is neither truly original nor a masterpiece of action cinema. But it’s not bad either.
It is entertaining. And that’s all it wants to be.
