Gal Gadot, star of the “Wonder Woman” movies and periodic ensemble player in The “Fast” Saga, is getting her crack at a Netflix female-led actioner.
In “Heart of Stone,” Gadot stars as an MI6 agent who secretly works for a covert peacekeeping organization known as The Charter. However, things go awry, as they often do in these films, leaving the professional badass comparatively isolated from her MI6 life and having to save the day with little backup. What follows is the expected assortment of action stunts (including a snowy mountaintop skydiving escape) and more conventional sky-high fight scene amid fisticuffs and shootings.
So, no, “Heart of Stone” doesn’t seem to reinvent the wheel, but if it works on its own terms then that will be enough for most Netflix viewers. Whether it spawns a new franchise, well, there’s a long road between “This is the start of a new franchise!” and “Extraction 2… now available on Netflix.”
Tom Harper (“The Aeronauts” and “The Woman in Black: Angel of Death”) directs a script from Greg Rucka (who wrote “The Old Guard” based on his comic book) and Allison Schroeder (who penned “Hidden Figures”), with Skydance, Mockingbird and Pilot Wave producing.
Gadot stars alongside Jamie Dornan, Alia Bhatt, Sophie Okonedo, Matthias Schweighöfer, Jing Lusi and Paul Ready.
“Heart of Stone” arrives on Netflix on Aug. 11.
