Heart of Stone

Cert: 12A | ★★★★✩

Out Friday

Gal Gadot heads a stellar international cast in this enjoyable spy action thriller from The Aeronauts and Wild Rose director Tom Harper.

In it, Gadot plays Rachel Stone, an intelligence operative who finds herself involved in an international game of cat and mouse with rival spies. She’s a bone fide action star, kicking and punching her way around the busy streets of Europe with disarming charm and touching vulnerability. Never mind James Bond, Rachel Stone is the new Jason Bourne. I do hope Hollywood is watching closely.

London-born Jewish actor Sophie Okonedo also delights as Nomad, the leader of a global peacekeeping organisation which recruits Stone to protect a powerful AI asset known only as The Heart. And Bollywood superstar Alia Bhatt delivers an impressive turn as young operative Kaya in what is her Hollywood debut.

spy film

Gal Gadot as Rachel Stone in Heart of Stone (Photo: Netflix)

Now, there’s no getting away from the fact that there are more than a few similarities between Harper’s film and the latest instalment in the Mission Impossible franchise, and that includes the ludicrous anti-AI narrative. But this doesn’t detract from the film’s entertainment value.

And while many might question the need for another action series in the James Bond tradition, there have, please note, been very few female-led action productions outside of the usual MCU or DCEU.

Look, the film is far from perfect and the story itself is preposterous, but it does feel genuinely fresh and exciting.