It’s indeed thrilling to witness our beloved Bollywood A-listers making their grand entrances into Hollywood. Priyanka Chopra rocked ‘Baywatch’, Deepika Padukone impressed in ‘XXX: Return Of Xander Cage’, and Irrfan Khan left his mark in ‘A Mighty Heart’. Now, the list extends with Alia Bhatt’s debut in Netflix’s “Heart Of Stone.” In this spy action-thriller, Alia takes on the role of the antagonist, while the protagonist, ‘Rachel,’ is portrayed by Gal Gadot. The prospect of two exceptional women leading the show adds to the excitement, but unfortunately, the film falls short due to its lackluster writing.
The reason behind labeling the writing as mediocre stems from the narrative’s occasional incoherence, making it challenging to stay fully engaged. Additionally, the plot doesn’t offer much novelty. Despite the involvement of talented writers like Greg Rucka, known for his remarkable work in Marvel and DC comics, and Allison Schroeder, coupled with the directorial prowess of Tom Harper, known for “Peaky Blinders” and the brilliant “The Scouting Book For Boys”, one would anticipate a more captivating storyline. Instead, what unfolds is a mishmash of elements from “Citadel” (an Amazon Prime series) and the “Mission Impossible” franchise.
The storyline spans locations from the Italian Alps to Iceland, passing through Lisbon and Senegal. Rachel, an operative affiliated with ‘Charter,’ a covert organization dedicated to global salvation, embarks on her mission. Interestingly, there’s a line that echoes, “When the government falters, The Charter steps in,” reminiscent of the concept behind the spy agency ‘Citadel’, led by Priyanka Chopra. The parallels are striking.
Meanwhile, Alia Bhatt’s character, ‘Keya Dhawan,’ a 22-year-old hacker from Pune, engages in a head-to-head race with Rachel to secure ‘The Heart’, a MacGuffin with similarities to both The Entity from “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One” and HAL 9000 from “2001: A Space Odyssey”. The Heart possesses the uncanny ability to predict the outcomes of various actions, essentially foreseeing the future. In the wrong hands, it becomes a tool for world domination. The cast includes Jamie Dornan as ‘Parker,’ an agent whose character feels underdeveloped, despite Dornan’s efforts.
While the first half of the movie exudes a more light-hearted vibe, the tone takes a somber turn in the latter half. Director Tom Harper seemingly forgets the Fleetwood Mac number that had characters grooving just moments ago. Instead, the movie’s climax is accompanied by an immersive score from Oscar-winner Steven Price, reminiscent of the evocative compositions seen in “Mindhunter”.
The film’s highlights lie in the commendable performances of its leading ladies and well-executed action sequences. However, the rest of the plot suffers from the common pitfalls of spy thrillers—haphazard action scenes and unforeseen, implausible twists that require a substantial suspension of disbelief to be embraced.
“Heart Of Stone” is now streaming on Netflix.
