After failing to make a critical impression with Red Notice in 2021, Gal Gadot's latest Netflix film Heart of Stone follows up with mostly negative reviews. Despite its poor critical reception, the Gal Gadot, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and Ryan Reynolds-starring Red Notice became Netflix's most-watched movie in 2021 and had largely favorable Rotten Tomatoes scores from audiences. Red Notice thus became a huge streaming hit, which led to hope that Gal Gadot's latest Netflix spy action film, Heart of Stone, would follow suit while redeeming the 2021 film's failure with critics.
Heart of Stone hit Netflix on August 11, nearly two years after the record-breaking debut of Red Notice. However, unlike Red Notice, Gal Gadot's latest Netflix film doesn't have the same star-studded cast, with no Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson or Ryan Reynolds to help carry the promotional side. This means the movie may not get the same leniency from audiences as it did with a more fun, comedy-focused action flick. Without the humor, cast, and fun factor, Heart of Stone will be relying on Gadot's popularity and the plot and execution of the film to resonate with audiences, though the 2023 film's critical response is already faring worse than Red Notice.
Heart Of Stone's Reviews Are Even Worse Than Red Notice
Worryingly for Gadot, Heart of Stone is receiving an even worse critics score on Rotten Tomatoes than Red Notice. At the time of writing, Heart of Stone holds an abysmal 29% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, coming in lower than Red Notice's 37% score. While Red Notice had a lot of other factors contributing to its success, Heart of Stone's reception is heavily reliant upon the film's writing, acting, and premise being of high quality, which the 29% critics score doesn't suggest. While audience scores could still redeem the film somewhat, all signs point to Heart of Stone going down as a failure.
Positive audience scores alone may not be enough to save the film, despite the fact that there are already plans for Heart of Stone 2. Though Netflix hasn't confirmed the sequel, Heart of Stone's director has suggested that the 2023 film is meant to be the first installment in a growing franchise. However, with such disappointing reviews, the prospects of Heart of Stone 2 actually happening aren't promising. Whereas the popularity from audiences justifies Red Notice 2 and 3, the chances of Heart of Stone reaching the same viewership seem low given its poor marketing. The bad reviews for Gadot's latest film and its unlikeliness to succeed only add to the movie star's troubling streak with critics.
Heart Of Stone Continues Gal Gadot's Bad Non-Franchise Rotten Tomatoes Streak
Gadot is best known for her involvement in major franchises, most notably as Gisele in the Fast & Furious films and Wonder Woman in the former DCEU. Outside the big franchises, however, Gadot has struggled to find much success with critics. Her streak of poor-performing non-franchise movies continues with Heart of Stone, as she's seen few hits outside the multi-movie universes she's been involved with. Even Death on the Nile, which has relatively positive reviews, is part of Kenneth Branagh's Hercule Poirot film series. Her non-franchise film Between Two Ferns: The Movie boasts critical acclaim, but also only sees Gadot portray herself in a brief interview scene.
Despite her Hollywood star power, Gadot has certainly struggled to find new roles that critics and audiences alike have supported. Heart of Stone is yet another instance of her difficulty working on critically renowned movies outside established franchises. Regardless of her movies' performances, Gadot continues to find new anticipated roles, with a leading part in Cleopatra and casting as the Evil Queen in Disney's live-action Snow White remake lined up. With Red Notice sequels also on the way, Gal Gadot will have plenty more opportunities to redeem her poor record among critics after Heart of Stone.
