Heart of Stone (2023)

[BudBaxter]

Enjoyed most of it. Thought Gal was good & a lot of the action stuff was pretty well handled. it was a pleasant surprise that it didn't go on for two and a half hours (or more) like most Netflix originals, & I really liked the score.

On the downside:

As others have said, it so desperately wants to be Mission Impossible (with a touch of Bond), right down to trying to ape the look of the last couple of MI films.

Jamie Dornan was awful as usual. Really not sure how he gets work.

[Show spoiler]The minute he appeared onscreen I thought to myself, I bet he's the baddie. Ten minutes later, the guy on the cable car dies which pretty much confirmed my suspicions, but the film still waits another half an hour before giving us THE BIG SHOCKING TWIST.

The supporting cast all felt a bit wasted, especially Glenn Close & BD Wong. & I was quite disappointed when

[Show spoiler]the other half of Gal's team was killed by Dornan. I was just starting to like them.

Were the opening titles AI generated? They looked as terrible as the Secret Invasion credits. Dreadful choice of song too, which didn't even fit the length of the title sequence.


Having said all that, it all rattled along at a decent pace & I was never bored. if Netflix wants to make another, I'll happily watch Gal in a bunch of slinky outfits kicking ass around the world. Just please write a better script next time.