Entertainingly Average
Summary
Heads of State is utter nonsense, but it’s hard to dislike due to the perfect team up of Idris Elba and John Cena. It has plenty of action and a few funny moments to be worth a watch once at least.
Plot: U.S. President Will Derringer and British Prime Minister Sam Clarke have a not-so-friendly and very public rivalry. However, when Air Force One gets shot down over enemy territory, they find themselves on the run and working together to thwart a global conspiracy that threatens the entire free world.
Review: Heads of State is the kind of outrageous concept that could only exist in a movie – what if the UK Prime Minister (Idris Elba) and President of the United States (John Cena) didn’t like each other, but are forced to work together to uncover a conspiracy and save NATO from being disbanded with lots of explosions, shoot-outs and fight scenes? It’s absolute nonsense but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a good time with this movie. It’s mostly due to our two leads Elba and Cena who seem to be having a fun time and it’s hard not to just enjoy the ride.
Heads of State is well paced with regular action scenes however, it never quite shakes off the made for streaming aesthetic where practically all the explosions are CG and a lot of it takes place in front of greenscreen.
John Cena is always game to make fun of himself and the scene in the truck with the sheep udders had me laughing out loud; Idris Elba is always great with the dry British line delivery making this one of the most appealing action movie duos for some time.
Paddy Considine doesn’t get to do much as the antagonist Viktor Gradov, but he’s such a great actor that he makes the best of it and him killing one of his own men with a tea pot is a great villain moment.
The supporting cast includes Priyanka Chopra Jonas as Idris Elba’s love interest and spy Noel Bisset with Jack Quaid playing US Agent Marty Comer.
The script never reaches any amazing heights, but there are a few funny moments and there’s enough action to keep things moving along nicely.
Overall, Heads of State isn’t about to reinvent the action genre, but as a passable streaming movie it’s a fun time elevated by John Cena and Idris Elba who are maybe the best onscreen duo of the year.