HEART OF STONE

Name: HEART OF STONE
Item: HEART OF STONE
Author: Cooper Dowd

“Underwhelming Spy Thriller”

Family Content: -1 Caution advised for older children, including teenagers, and sensitive adults.

Entertainment Quality:

	None	Light	Moderate	Heavy
Language
Violence
Sex
Nudity

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What You Need To Know:

Streaming on Netflix, HEART OF STONE presents a lackluster portrayal of a spy thriller. Rachel Stone is a dedicated operative of the secret peacekeeping force the Charter. She assumes the identity of a new recruit within the ranks of MI6. The story takes a twist when Rachel’s colleague in MI6 is exposed as a double agent. The double agent is working with a mysterious hacker named Keya, who is intent on gaining control over the Charter’s most prized possession, an advanced AI program called the Heart.

In typical spy thriller fashion, HEART OF STONE is filled with explosions, action sequences and chase scenes spanning international locations. The movie’s storyline is rather insubstantial, appearing to be assembled from elements reminiscent of different installments of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE and JAMES BOND. As the heroine, Gal Gadot exudes her signature charm. The other characters often fade into the background of their scenes. Despite its shortcomings, HEART OF STONE has a strong moral worldview stressing good conquering evil, sacrifice, teamwork and duty. However, there’s some foul language and intense action violence. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises some caution.

Content:

(BB, C, LL, VV, A, M)

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:

Strong moral worldview with some redemptive elements promotes courage, good conquering evil, sacrifice, teamwork, and duty

Foul Language:

About 14 obscenities (including “s” words, “b” words and “d” words) and four light exclamatory profanities

Violence:

Intense action sequences involving violence, fights, pursuits, a gunfight, and chase between the hero and a security team amidst the Italian Alps, other gunfights, an ambush scene occurs in Lisbon where heroine chooses to remain and save her team despite being offered an escape route, a high-stakes encounter unfolds between the heroine and villains aboard a blimp soaring over western Africa, followed by another firefight on their descent, and there’s an explosive climactic confrontation involving

Sex:

No sex but man and woman kiss in the background of a scene

Nudity:

No nudity

Alcohol Use:

A few scenes show adults drinking alcohol

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:

No smoking or illegal drugs, but the use of poison by spies to kill their targets is mentioned; and,

Miscellaneous Immorality:

Acts of stealing, gambling and lying in some scenes.

More Detail:

HEART OF STONE chronicles the journey of Rachel Stone, an unwavering operative of a covert peacekeeping entity named the Charter. Engaging in an undercover assignment, she seamlessly assumes the persona of a newly recruited member within MI6. The movie commences with a mishandled mission by Stone’s MI6 team, resulting in losing their intended target at a luxury ski resort in Italy. Upon their return to London, a shocking revelation unfolds— one of Stone’s MI6 colleagues is a double agent collaborating with a mysterious hacker named Keya. Together they intend to seize control over the Charter’s most prized possession, an advanced AI program called the Heart. Stone is thrown into a global chase to track down her new targets who seek to take over the world with use of the Heart.
In typical spy thriller fashion, HEART OF STONE is filled with lots of explosions, action sequences, and chase scenes spanning various locations across the world. Regrettably, the movie’s storyline is rather insubstantial, appearing to be assembled from fragmented elements reminiscent of different installments of the Mission: Impossible and James Bond franchises. Positioned as the inaugural installment of a new franchise, HEART OF STONE initiates with a somewhat underwhelming start.
Diverging from other accomplished spy thrillers, HEART OF STONE falls short in presenting a captivating lead character to captivate the audience’s attention. While Gal Gadot’s portrayal of Rachel Stone carries a certain charm, her character lacks the depth and engaging traits that define protagonists in other successful spy thrillers.
Despite these flaws, the movie does make use of some beautiful landscapes and has some exciting action sequences that distract from the movie’s lackluster narrative. Moreover, the movie has many moral, redemptive elements stressing courage, good conquering evil, sacrifice, teamwork, and duty. However, HEART OF STONE has some foul language and intense action violence. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for older children.