The profound impact of AI technology on humanity is undeniable. While it’s a testament to our scientific and technological progress, it can also be seen as a potential threat to the future of humanity. In various aspects, AI technology has surprised us by showing its advanced skills that even surpass human capabilities. We’ve admired the extraordinary artistic prowess of Midjourney AI for its amazing ability to create paintings in minutes, while the immense knowledge of chatbots has amazed us by aiding us in writing songs, making theses, and many more. We can predict the future of AI as an infinite reservoir of knowledge in the human world, with almost predictive capabilities. “The Heart,” introduced by Tom Harper’s Netflix action thriller, Heart of Stone, possesses such groundbreaking capabilities, making it a futuristic AI technology, able to solve any kind of problem a human could face. This super-advanced artificial intelligence technology is a precious treasure for almost everyone in Heart of Stone. Several organizations and some independent individuals are constantly after this “Heart,” making the story an intriguing journey marked with unexpected twists and turns.
Spoilers Ahead
What Is The Heart? Why Is Everyone After It?
“The Heart” is a highly advanced artificial intelligence capable of hacking into any kind of system through its advanced software technology. When Rachel Stone and her MI6 team managed to capture the arms dealer, Mulvaney, in the opening scene of Heart of Stone, we saw Rachel reveal herself to be a member of a peacekeeping organization called the Charter. She communicated with another Charter agent, Jack, who was seen operating the AI device “The Heart.” It allowed him to gain extensive information regarding the entire mountain region of Italy, where Rachel was. The Heart’s technology predicted potential shortcuts for Rachel to escape the area or the paths she could take to save her fellow agents and rescue the organization.
This is where we realized that “The Heart” is all you could ask for. This is a revolutionary invention that could change the future of the world. He who had “The Heart” had the whole world in his fist. The Charter became the one who possessed “The Heart,” making them the target of several individuals, especially some with a personal vendetta, such as MI6 professional Parker and his teammate Keya Dhawan, an experienced hacker with a personal motive to destroy her nemesis, Niam Kharche.
However, it’s best of all if “The Heart” remained in possession of the Charter because only they could use it as a tool to aid intelligence operatives around the world responsibly and overthrow corrupt Governments. The Charter, an international secret intelligence force that had zero affiliation with any kind of political group or nation, had already successfully used AI technology to conduct multiple life-saving missions. But with unethical intentions, this technology could destroy humanity.
We saw that “The Heart” can provide many options in a situation and predict the possible consequences of each option. This was useful for Rachel Stone, as she became aware of whom she would be fighting and the possible ways she could use to escape a dangerous situation with the help of “The Heart.” However, in the wrong hands, this technology could also be used to harm humans, just as Parker intended to do in the second half of the film. Parker had been caught in a massive explosion a few years ago when he was tasked with a mission to capture a Chechen warlord in Chechnya. However, he later discovered that the explosion was carried out by a secretive agency called ‘The Charter,’ making them Parker’s ultimate target to eliminate.
Then, after acquiring information about “The Heart,” he managed to steal it from its “locker,” situated in an African desert, and with the help of its technology, located every head member of the Charter and wiped out most of the crucial intelligence members of the agency. However, his teammate Keya came to the final realization that Parker’s way of seeking revenge was against her principles. She switched sides and teamed up with Rachel to prevent the massacre planned by Parker. In a climactic ending, Rachel put an end to Parker’s life, while Keya managed to retrieve “The Heart,” giving it back to the Charter. The Charter agents embraced “The Heart” as well as Keya, giving her another opportunity in life.
Will Stone, Jack, And Keya Return For A Sequel?
After Rachel Stone uncovered Keya’s reasons for stealing the Heart and collaborating with Parker, she realized that Keya wasn’t definitely a bad person. Circumstances had led her to make such drastic decisions in order to finally confront her enemy, Niam Kharche, who was responsible for the murder of her parents during a pharmaceutical lab experiment. Though it took a lot of time and cost many lives, Keya eventually understood that working for Parker, she could only bring harm to people. She felt that her true goal of taking down Kharche was being overshadowed by Parker, who was obsessed with wiping out the Charter. When she decided to switch sides and helped Rachel take out Parker, she became free, and so did “The Heart.” Recognizing Keya’s potential, Rachel Stone didn’t hand her over to the authorities; instead, she employed her in the Charter as an efficient hacker, aiding Charter agents in infiltrating several criminal organizations. Now that Rachel, Keya, Jack, and the leader of the Charter, Nomad, have joined forces to tackle even more intense missions, much like the one they faced in Heart of Stone, is it possible that we might expect more sequels to come our way?
As of now, there hasn’t been any official announcement regarding the renewal of Heart of Stone for a sequel. However, we can speculate that similar to the approach taken with Extraction by Netflix, we might anticipate another installment in the film series. In a potential upcoming sequel, there could be a deeper exploration of Rachel Stone’s past, as this film has given us limited information about her life except for her rebellious teenage years and her various school expulsions. Keya Dhawan’s character needs further exploration and depth, as in the potential upcoming sequel, we might see her confronting her archenemy Niam Kharche to dismantle his criminal empire. Alternatively, Heart of Stone could take an entirely different direction, introducing a new storyline where these characters might face an even more powerful and ferocious enemy.
Heart of Stone is definitely a good action film, but it needs more work on its character development. While Rachel Stone is the highlight of the film, Parker’s character is mostly downplayed, and Keya Dhawan’s background journey remains in the shadows. This makes it difficult for the audience to connect with each plot development. Probably in the next sequel, things will be taken care of, particularly regarding the character arcs and a more profound and deep threat related to advancing AI technology, which will likely be at the heart of the film.
