Director: Ilya Naishuller
Writers: Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec, Harrison Query
Stars: Idris Elba, John Cena, Priyanka Chopra Jonas
Synopsis: When the UK Prime Minister and US President become the targets of a foreign adversary, they’re forced to rely on one another to thwart a global conspiracy.
Prime Video’s Heads of State is a film you’ve seen thousands—and I do mean thousands—of times before. The action buddy comedy is a tried-and-true formula that has stood the test of time. From Lethal Weapon, 48 Hrs., and Midnight Run to slightly less acclaimed but still enjoyable entries Rush Hour and the Bad Boys franchise of films, the genre was born out of classics like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Of course, that legacy also led to some truly terrible, awkwardly conceived entries—movies born out of the genre’s wedlock, so to speak. One I always remember (and not fondly) is Chill Factor, starring Cuba Gooding Jr. and Skeet Ulrich. I saw it in theaters, and it’s still freezer-burned into my memory.
Heads of State lands somewhere in the middle. The film is derivative, tonally confused, and bogged down by a convoluted plot overwrought with needless action and abrupt shifts. Its saving grace is the comic chemistry between the leads, which serves the movie well, but is not enough to earn even a mild recommendation.
Heads of State follows two of the world’s foremost political leaders: President of the United States Will Derrienger (John Cena), who won an election based on his popularity as an action film star from the blockbuster franchise “Water Cobra,” where he’s known as “Venom in Denim”—which, I’ll admit, is pretty amusing, and probably the funniest thing about the entire film. Derrienger shares a mutual disdain with the British Prime Minister, Sam Clarke (Idris Elba), a former SAS-trained commando with little respect for his American counterpart.
A joint press conference unravels after a collaborative operation between the two countries—led by Noel Bisset (The White Tiger’s Priyanka Chopra Jonas), a senior MI6 agent and former flame of Clarke—goes disastrously wrong, leaving seven agents dead. Clarke joins Derrienger aboard Air Force One for the return trip to the States. However, the same terrorists who sabotaged their mission managed to infiltrate the world’s most secure aircraft. Unfortunately, neither man is President James Marshall—and neither of the villains is Egor Korshunov.
Heads of State is a disappointment, especially given the talent involved both in front and behind the camera. The film is directed by Ilya Naishuller, the filmmaker behind one of the best action comedies of the century, Nobody. Here, though, he’s working with a script that feels like it’s been through one revision too many—credited to writers like Josh Appelbaum (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol), André Nemec (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows), and Harrison Query (Unspeakable: The Murder of JonBenét Ramsey).
Frankly, the whole picture feels like something Prime Video pulled out of a forgotten filing cabinet to pad out their streaming slate in pursuit of quantity over creativity. Every cheap cliché appears, offering nothing new to the genre. That can be fine—many action comedies recycle tropes—but only if executed with flair. Here, the only saving grace is the chemistry between Cena and Elba, whose buddy-comedy dynamic provides a few genuine laughs, particularly as the film pokes fun at the idea of American political leaders being elected based solely on celebrity status rather than experience.
Making the most of his brief appearance is Jack Quaid (Novocaine), who runs a safe house in Warsaw. He’s seen too many Derrienger movies for his own good, but ironically, he has more real-world expertise than the current Commander-in-Chief. Quaid leans into his strength as the scrappy, nerdy sidekick, and the sequence featuring him is the best action set piece in the entire film—a reminder that the movie could’ve used much more of his character.
Of course, the trailer gives away most of the film. You know the drill—another character presumed dead pops up later, and the “hidden” villains are so obvious they may as well be wearing signs. The movie tears pages straight from the genre playbook, step-by-step. I could practically hear Sergeant Al Powell groaning about it in my head. Yes, I am all about dated movie references, so Google him and thank me later.
Heads of State is not worth watching because it is the same recycled material despite the chemistry between the leads. It makes you wonder why Elba decided to star in a movie like this, while Cena’s streak of bad movies as a lead remains intact.
You can stream Heads of State only on Prime Video on July 2nd!
