Born to middle-class parents, Gal Gadot parlayed success in beauty pageants into military service as a combat fitness instructor. Then came a modeling career and, eventually, Hollywood stardom. Yet, because she is Israeli, Gadot’s mere existence seems to invite a political tribunal before the opening credits of any movie she stars in.

Her latest film, The Runner, a serviceable direct-to-streaming suspense thriller from director Kevin Macdonald, has been greeted with striking hostility. The A.V. Club’s critic, for example, derides her delivery as “inhuman” and spends much of the review mocking the actress herself.