Stone of Destiny

PG

2008

1h 36m

Adventure

Comedy

List

53%

17 Reviews

Tomatometer

58%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

As Scotland fails to establish its own parliament once again, young patriot Ian Hamilton vows to salvage national pride by returning the Stone of Destiny, a symbol of Scottish sovereignty to its rightful place. Trouble is, the talismanic brick has been housed in Westminster Abbey under watchful English eyes since 1296.

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corkball

A heist movie where the actual heist is amateurish and cornball. But that isn't really the point. A bunch of college students get Scottish patriotism in their blood and decide to steal the Stone of Destiny from Westminster Abbey and return it to Scotland. Part heist flick, part college frat prank, part Braveheart. It isn't really any of these in sum. Interesting flick if you are in to history or Scottish politics. There are some funny bits, but overall I didn't feel the story was all that compelling. Some of the characters were weak, and I didn't feel a real sense of consequence or danger.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Children of Scotland I salute you!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/17/19

Full Review

Audience Member

C.M. Smith's film, whilst charming in places, portrays patriotism (and indeed, nationalism) as more than a little small-minded. Fettered with the forgivable use of artistic licence on the events throughout, it informs us even less on the reality of the events than it does the motivations of the group. The protagonist Ian Hamilton is portrayed as a wet (albeit less-so timid) and shallow-minded hot-head. His faux-macho accomplice Gavin is meant to be the heart of the tale's comic offering, but in reality impossible to like after a moment of opaquely perverted & suggestative discourse with a lady bound to Westminster Abbey's information desk. In life, Kay Matheson was (in equal part) a co-conspirator, but in Smith's script she features as not a lot more than Hamilton's love interest after the opening scene. In absence of a proper explanation for the sentiments & actions of these students, we are offered instead a rather tribal view of a fractious Britain, wherein stern, unloveable & suspicious English men & women resent to whimsical hopefulness of Scottish underdogs. This film offers a little charm and not a lot else, but reminds us of a tale that (at some point) needs a more insightful retelling.k

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/15/23

Full Review

Audience Member

What a great movie. Love of country and heritage. Beautiful.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/02/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Delightful and inspirational film that's quite surprisingly good.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/18/18

Full Review

troy k

It's okay, kind of a like a good TV movie. The ending is annoying though.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Charles Martin Smith

Director

Charlie Cox

Ian Hamilton

Kate Mara

Kay Matheson

Billy Boyd

Bill Craig

Ciaron Kelly

Alan Stuart

Robert Carlyle

John MacCormick

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Peter Howell

Toronto Star

Writer/director Charles Martin Smith brings energy and wit to this British-Canadian co-production.

Rated: 2.5/4

Feb 20, 2009

Full Review

Derek Adams

Time Out

Written and directed by an American, the film nevertheless feels closer to the 'British' spirit of the old Ealing comedies, something emphasised by its old-fashioned ambience and its charming evocation of the period.

Rated: 3/6

Dec 19, 2008

Full Review

Cath Clarke

Guardian

Writer/director Charles Martin Smith is American, which wouldn't matter if this didn't feel so much like a wee-dram-and-bagpipes invitation to a mythical Scotland of yesteryear.

Rated: 2/5

Dec 19, 2008

Full Review

Brian D. Johnson

Maclean's Magazine

To call it a pleasant, watchable picture is to damn it with the faint praise that it seems to solicit.

Jan 2, 2018

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...unapologetically old-fashioned...

Rated: 2.5/4

Jul 1, 2009

Full Review

Jim Slotek

Jam! Movies

Braveheart it isn't, but it is fun.

Rated: 3/5

Feb 20, 2009

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

As Scotland fails to establish its own parliament once again, young patriot Ian Hamilton vows to salvage national pride by returning the Stone of Destiny, a symbol of Scottish sovereignty to its rightful place. Trouble is, the talismanic brick has been housed in Westminster Abbey under watchful English eyes since 1296.

Director: Charles Martin Smith
Producer: Victor Loewy, Michael S. Murphey
Screenwriter: Ian Hamilton, Charles Martin Smith
Production Co: Infinity Features Entertainment, Alliance, The Mob Film Company
Rating: PG (Language|Incidental Smoking)
Genre: Adventure, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 11, 2017
Runtime: 1h 36m

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