Watch reviewHalfway through the two-hour run of Netflix’s latest big-budget action film Heart Of Stone, I realised something was missing. Although there were explosions, gun battles, action, and even humorous banter, the film felt lacking. Entering the climax, I figured that Heart Of Stone is simply another Mission Impossible film without Tom Cruise’s charm or any memorable scenes.
After The Gray Man and Red Notice, Netflix is back with another big-budget globe-trotting actioner starring Gal Gadot, Jamie Dornan, and marking Alia Bhatt’s international debut. The film is supposed to enthrall the audience with its grand visuals and grander reveals as it travels through various breathtaking locations including, The Alps, Lisbon, London, and Iceland. But these exotic locations don’t add any value to the plot, except for bringing up the logical question of how some of the most-wanted people get to travel between so many international borders without any security breach.
Such logical flaws are, regrettably, the least of this movie’s problems as it suffers greatly from the been-there-seen-that disease. The movie keeps to obvious events rather than delving into the specifics of the struggle. This results in the audience never getting invested in already scarce emotions that redefine relationships or the lives lost in the process of saving some.
Action is the backbone of The Gray Man and there are a bunch of well-choreographed set pieces that are sure to quench the thirst of the fans of the genre. With the actors getting into the swing of things and letting the pace of the film dictate the performances, star power propels Heart Of Stone through a string of explosions and fight sequences, one of which pits Bhatt against Gadot and delivers our money’s worth. The focus is solely to bombard the viewer with back-to-back action set pieces. The spectacular opening sequence does get you on the edge of your seat and is the film’s finest action scene. But after a while, the wafer-thin characters and them running around the world in circles, trying to be funny, gets a bit tiring.
In a directing style that mainly relies on explosions, chases, and thrills, Tom Harper who earlier helmed Peaky Blinders, translates a script into a big-screen spectacle. As soon as one action scene is finished, the way is swiftly cleared for the next, to provide non-stop excitement. Are we supposed to be whining? Anything excessive and constant runs the risk of becoming predictable. In Heart Of Stone, that is exactly what happens. There is no time for thought.
Even if Heart Of Stone may not be the ideal way to begin a planned series of action movies, it does hold the seeds for greater, happier things, especially for Bhatt’s villainous Dhawan, which exists at the opposite end of the spectrum to that of Gadot’s Rachel Stone. Not much is known about their characters beyond their immediate interactions with those around them, but even with the broad details of Dhawan’s difficult childhood sketched out, it’s hard to get a read on her motives or moral boundaries.
The Indian actor, in an appearance that does not go beyond a handful of sequences, does not fail to make an impression and will certainly increase her fan following. While her performance may not be as good as her recent Indian films, she earns the right to much larger play in future Heart Of Stone films, if and when they are made.
Action blockbusters’ performance and success hardly ever depend on critical acclaim. So Heart Of Stone may still be a hit. I’m not sure why this movie is on Netflix, though. It is a summer blockbuster in terms of scale, strategy, and treatment. Grand action scenes are intended to be viewed on a large screen, not on a phone or tablet.
Heart Of Stone is worth seeing once for action fans. The film promises - and tries - to give us the whole world but falls short by many a mile.
