Summary
- Heart of Stone is a spy thriller with explosive twists and turns, featuring Gal Gadot and Jamie Dornan in lead roles.
- The movie revolves around a powerful device called the Heart, capable of hacking, predicting the future, and controlling military weapons.
- The storyline delves into themes of vengeance, corruption, and the dangers of advanced technology falling into the wrong hands.
Warning: This article contains major spoilers for Heart of StoneAs the movie managed to recruit Gal Gadot and Jamie Dornan, everyone should have known that the ending to Heart of Stone would be full of explosive twists and turns. Directed by Tom Harper and released on Netflix, the first scene of the spy thriller introduces the viewers to the main protagonist, Rachel Stone. Although she is initially introduced as a tech agent working with MI6, viewers soon learn that she is actually an international spy who is working undercover for another agency in an attempt to track down mysteries hacker, known as Keya.
Unfortunately, Rachel's cover is blown once she discovers that her good friend, Parker, is a double agent and working with Keya to gain access to a powerful weapon (The Heart). Hurt by this betrayal, Rachel and an international team eventually track Parker and Keya to Iceland to try and stop them. Sadly, many main characters die after they fall into several traps. However, Rachel survives after Keya calls to warn her about the ambush. She also calls a truce after discovering Parker's dark intentions. After the two team up to kill Parker, the movie then ends with Rachel visiting Keya in prison, recruiting her for her new team.
Parker Betrayed The Team To Get The Heart & Get Revenge On Charter
Given that Jamie Dornan played the villainous Will Scarlet in 2018's Robin Hood and serial killer Paul Spector in The Fall, it wasn't that shocking to see him cast as the main antagonist in Heart of Stone. However, the reason for his betrayal was quite unique. After he kills Rachel's close friends, Theresa and Max, and injects her with a drug that paralyzes her for a short time, he reveals that he is going after the Heart in order to track down the leaders of her team in revenge for what they did to him.
As revealed by the Charter's "Four Kings", Parker was one of MI6's best intelligent operatives. He and a group of other MI6 agents were sent to Chechnya to try and stop a dangerous warlord, who was ruthlessly killing innocents there in order to increase his power. However, they soon discover it was a trap and they were taken hostage by the Chechyan soldiers. Unfortunately, MI6 and the of the Charter were led to believe the hostages were dead so they launched a bomb on the area in order to try and wipe out the soldiers. Because of that false lead, Parker was in the crossfire and left for dead.
While the Charter tried to cover up their tracks by wiping all the records of the mission, as well as the individuals involved, Parker discovered the truth and began plotting his revenge against the agency and their leaders. After learning information, audiences would likely be able to see understand more where Parker's dark side and anger came from. However, that doesn't mean his actions were justified as his quest for vengeance led to the deaths of many innocent people who had nothing to do with the mission.
What Is The Heart & Why Was It So Important?
A big question at the center of the movie was what the mysterious device, known as The Heart, was and why it needed protecting so much. Initially, The Heart appeared to be a super-enhanced and powerful-technological device that was used by Charter to help them with their missions (it would give them information that would be unattainable anywhere else). However, the viewers soon discover how powerful the device truly was after Parker confronted the arms dealer, Mulvaney.
According to him, the Heart is "a formidable weapon [they] never knew existed". Not only was it capable of hacking into anything (including phones, power grids, government records, and banks) and predicting the future, but it could also control dangerous military weapons (such as nuclear bombs or missiles). If it fell into the wrong hands, then the world as everyone knew it could cease to exist. While viewers knew that Keya had no plans to use it for this, no one could be certain about Parker since his desire for vengeance had already seen him hurt many innocent people.
Who Are Charter?
Although Rachel was initially introduced as an MI6 tech agent, it is soon revealed that she was undercover in the agency and was actually working for a company known as "Charter". Similar to MI6, Charter was a secret international organization tasked with protecting the world from corrupt governments and dangerous warlords. While most people believe them to be a legend, many of their who are part of Charter work undercover since they need to infiltrate other agencies to get information or because they are tasked with helping them with their missions.
As the movie progresses, the viewers learn that Rachel mainly gets her orders from the higher-ups who call themselves "Kings" (with each member named after the suit in the card deck). Although they only have a ing role in the movie, these agents are vital to the plot since they are inadvertently responsible for Parker's descent into villainy and are the targets for his revenge. Harper did a great job in casting the Kings, with the likes of Glenn Close and BD Wong providing compelling performances. Sadly, they are killed off before viewers learn anything else about them.
How The Heart Of Stone Sets Up A Sequels/Other Movies
Given that the ending sees Rachel recruit Keya for her new team at Charter and going on another operation, it seems that Netflix may be open to doing a Heart of Stone 2. If the writers are planning a sequel, then it will likely have a bigger budget in order for them to include more action-packed stunts and fight sequences. It's also likely that Keya, Rachel, and The Charter will have to stop another dangerous mercenary from getting their hands on a weapon/device that is just as powerful as The Heart.
While it may be a while before the story of Heart of Stone 2 is revealed, there is a strong possibility that Heart of Stone may become another major Netflix franchise. Given that the movie introduced a plethora of interesting characters, including the King of Diamonds (Close), the Jack of Hearts (Matthias Schweighöfer), and Nomad (Sophie Okonedo), and only touched on Keya's backstory briefly, there's a possibility that the franchise may develop a spinoff series or a prequel.
The True Meaning Of The Heart Of Stone
Although Heart of Stone seems like another action-packed spy thriller, the story does have a deep social and political meaning. It seemed like the writers were sending out a warning as to how the advancement of technology (particularly A.I) can be dangerous. While most companies use A.I. to collect data and observe the algorithms, there are now a number of concerns about this technology being used for war - especially after Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems started to emerge in 2021 (via Built In). As the movie shows, this new advancement is extremely dangerous as it can be easily hacked and used for harm.
There is also something to be said about how relying on technology can lead to poor decisions and a decline in critical thinking. As Charter began using The Heart more and more in their missions, it was clear that the agents' intuitive skills were dwindling and they weren't paying attention to the moral or ethical factors. This is something that has also been criticized by s experimenting with A.I. With Rachel and the other agreeing to use The Heart less in the end, the writers of Heart of Stone seem to suggest that the world should distance itself from these devices since everyone is better off without it.
Source: Built In
