Gal Gadot is known for playing the titular role in Wonder Woman (2017), but she first burst onto the scene in Fast & Furious (2009). She recently returned to her inaugural role this year with Fast X (2023). She was always a supporting character in that franchise. It seems as though this film rectifies that and instead makes her the lead in her own franchise that feels like it could be a Fast & Furious knock-off. In fact, this film rips off the idea of the God's Eye from Furious 7 (2015) and subsequent sequels. Here, this film's version of the God's Eye is instead called the "Heart." The Heart is a computer program or algorithm that can hack into any other electrical or computer system to control it, as well as find anyone, track them anywhere and even do predictive math to determine future outcomes with near perfect accuracy.
The idea of the Heart here is not a total rip off of Furious 7. From Quantum Leap (1989), to Person of Interest (2011) to Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), plenty of TV shows and films have utilized this idea of a computer A.I. or algorithm that can do what the Heart can do. Human beings wrestling with this kind of digital technology is a trend in media across the board. Hulu's Class of '09 (2023) and Paramount's Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023) also have their characters wrestling with the same. Paramount's film is more of an excuse to string together some insane action sequences. That's where this film, directed by Tom Harper (Peaky Blinders and Misfits), also lands as more or less an excuse to string action together. However, the script here by Greg Rucka (The Old Guard) and Allison Schroeder (Hidden Figures) had me caring and engaged by the characters more than the characters in that recent Mission: Impossible flick.
Gadot stars as Rachel Stone, an agent in MI6. She is herself a hacker who is assigned to a group of agents from London, England, to track down terrorists and arms dealers. When one of their missions is interrupted by another hacker who is searching for the Heart because she wants to control it, Rachel and her team have to determine who this hacker is and possibly stop her.
Sophie Okonedo (The Secret Life of Bees and Hotel Rwanda) co-stars as Nomad, the head of an organization, known as the Charter. She's also called the "King of Hearts" because she's in charge of the Heart, the aforementioned algorithm. Her job is to use the Heart to help MI6 or other spy organizations that need help. Her goal is to use the Heart to maximize the most number of people saved. Her responsibility is also to protect the Heart from the hacker or other terrorists who would use it for evil. She also tries to do so without passion or prejudice, objectively. This is opposed to Rachel who is more emotional and compassionate.
If this were a James Bond film, Nomad would be the equivalent of M. Yet, the Charter is also the equivalent of the IMF, the organization from the Mission: Impossible franchise. The Charter works outside the borders or rules of any country. They have this powerful algorithm, which gives them almost super-hero abilities. The film does reckon with a stateless actor having that kind of power and what they could be or what they should do. That reckoning, which is better than the so-called "Dead Reckoning," is rendered rather well dramatically here.
Jamie Dornan (Belfast and Fifty Shades of Grey) also co-stars as Parker, a MI6 agent who is part of the team with Rachel, trying to bring down terrorists and others. He's been working with Rachel for a year. He seems like a pretty skilled and dedicated field agent, obviously with military experience. He's heard of the Charter but he doesn't know if it's real. If it were real, he wouldn't agree with the Charter having the power that the Heart gives them. Rachel does agree and this is the source of the conflict between the two.
This conflict is a compelling one, as Parker becomes more of an antagonist. As such, he becomes one of the more intriguing antagonists in these kinds of action flicks. Even of the more recent, comic book films, Parker is more compelling than a lot of the MCU or DCEU villains. Of the top comic book villains we've seen in those MCU or DCEU titles, I would put Parker on the same level as Loki, Killmonger or even Thanos. Parker isn't as colorful or even as charming. He's basically a walking-talking idea, but he's well utilized.
Really, if anyone watches this film, it will be for the action. This film has four major set-pieces. The first is the ski slopes in Italy. The second is the streets of Portugal. The third is above and on the deserts of Senegal. The fourth is the streets of Iceland. With the exception of the set-piece in Italy, many of the others felt very reminiscent of sequences I've recently seen. Oddly, the sequence in Portugal felt similar to one in Adam Sandler's Murder Mystery 2 (2023). The sequence in Senegal felt similar to one in Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow (2021). The finale is one that's all about those seeking revenge needing to dig two graves, as well as the power of friendship and teamwork, which sounds corny but this film makes it work somewhat.
Rated PG-13 for violence, action and some language.
Running Time: 2 hrs. and 2 mins.
Available on Netflix.