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This is the precisely the kind of film that I’d have expected Jamie Dornan to be doing after Fifty Shades of Grey; a mediocre action movie that would maintain his profile but not bring any real accolades or great critical respect. Up until now this is not how his post Grey career has gone though, with him actually following his performance in the popular but seedy sex trilogy with a series of celebrated appearances in respected films and TV shows such as A Private War, Belfast and The Tourist. This, it has to be said feels like a bit of a step backwards.

Interestingly this is also exactly the sort of movie I’d have thought Gal Gadot would have done on her way to a big career changing part like Wonder Woman rather than after it. Start off with a few Fast & Furious films, follow those with the lead role in this and one or two other inconsequential straight to streaming movies and then take that iconic defining role and no looking back. Oddly this is all out of sequence for her too.

I can see this wasn’t the plan, especially for Gadot. Heart of Stone was clearly supposed to be a new franchise for her, the first in a number of big movies featuring a new female superspy that built on her previous comic book character successes rather than comparing poorly to them. I hasn’t worked out that way though; this movie is at best generic and at worst a little corny. It may get a sequel or two but it definitely doesn’t do for Gadot what Extraction has done for Chris Hemsworth.

There is one person in the principal cast for who does seems the typical next step in their career but even in her case it shouldn’t be. Hollywood sometimes has a habit of taking actors with impressive careers in foreign markets, especially women, and dumping them in some substandard genre film for their American debut, even though their proven range should have earned than something better. It happened with Zhang Ziyi in Rush Hour 2 and Ana de Armas in Knock Knock, and now too we have Indian film star Alia Bhatt, best known internationally for the astounding RRR, taking third billing in this forgettable Netflix thriller.

Bhatt in fact is the most naturalist of all the main cast. Dornan never seems comfortable with the cliched requirements of his part and Gadot doesn’t get the same material as that which allowed her to shine as Wonder Woman. There, especially in the second Patty Jenkins’s film, she displayed a convincing mix of modest confidence and vulnerability as she came to terms with the fact that her considerable skills and strength could not always save those she loved and while they go for a similar thing here, it just doesn’t come off.

The plot in this new movie sees Gadot as a member of an elite network of secret agents but there is nothing original in the way this plays out. The story tries to bring in some revelations on two specific occasions but neither of them work because there hasn’t been enough work done to properly set them up. In one case there is joy in seeing the truth come out as Gadot’s Rachel Stone shows the extent of her capabilities to a group who had previously been unaware of them but the other shock twist, which actually follows quickly off the back of this, is underplayed and unearned. Sadly, despite one further cool moment with a motorbike and a nice gag about the tech guy failing to identify an analogue communication solution, most of the film carries on with a similar lack of innovation. The second part of the title evidently comes from the protagonist’s name but the reason behind the first part is painfully laboured in a way that is actually very fitting for this whole movie.

None of this means you will regret watching the film. The whole thing is engaging and well intentioned, especially in its gender politics, but it just could have been so much better. Everyone gives their all and I’m sure the disappointing outcome will prove more of a surprise to many of them than any they try to provide the audience. The director Tom Harper previously did The Aeronauts and Wild Rose, so he has given us good work before, and the screenplay is by Allison Schroeder who wrote on Hidden Figures, Christopher Robin and Frozen 2, but for some reason it just hasn’t come together on this occasion.

Hopefully everyone involved will move on to something far more in keeping with their previous achievements next time.