Post-The Suicide Squad, producer Peter Safran wanted to reunite the pair of John Cena and Idris Elba. Four years later, he has done just that with Amazon's action comedy Heads of State. On this occasion, however, the superstar duo is led by director Ilya Naishuller, who famously helmed the highly entertaining Nobody (2021). Heads of State tells the story of rivalling nation leaders, American president and movie star Will Derringer (John Cena) and UK Prime Minister Sam Clarke (Idris Elba). When the two are shot down on Air Force One, they must team up and embark on a wild adventure to stop their foreign adversary, with some assistance from MI6 agent Noel Bisset (Priyanka Chopra), from destroying the world as we know it. It's absolutely as absurd as it sounds, and Naishuller and co offer no apologies. The film banks on its charismatic duo, and fortunately, they (mostly) keep the good times rolling.
The film wastes no time establishing its characters and comedic tone by kicking off in Spain as Noel Bisset's mission to capture foreign threat Viktor Gradov (Paddy Considine) goes awry, leaving many agents dead and Gradov in possession of secret intel. Word of the failed mission makes its way to our contrasting world leaders, who are instantly at odds before their joint press conference, with Clarke showing an amusing disdain for Derringer's movie star image. After the press conference, they are advised to come together by sharing an airplane journey, which goes south, and the madness truly begins. Instantly, audiences are served with action, introduced to recurring jokes (e.g., Derringer's disdain for fish and chips), and most importantly, they understand the amusing dynamic between Cena's naïve yet good-hearted Derringer and Elba's no-nonsense Clarke.
Naishuller's latest is a vehicle designed purely to service its lead stars' comedic barbs, which is painfully evident when they are not on screen, but makes for great entertainment when they are. From the outset, Cena shows he is the perfect foil for Elba's straight-laced character. His hammed-up mannerisms and excellent one-liners, like his terrible pronunciation of “Leicester Square” or referring to his character as Dr. Dre and Elba's character as Eminem, tee up his co-star perfectly for comedic retorts. In addition, Derringer's desire to be liked, which Cena effortlessly inserts into his character, adds an endearing quality to the dynamic that serves their eventual coming together in the film's climax. Elba and Cena clearly had a blast shooting this together, and it translates on screen.
Heads of State plays to its ridiculous nature well, providing self-indulgent jokes like Derringer's reaction to a predictable plot twist and terrifically entertaining montage sequences that retrace our characters' steps as opposed to them explaining everything. In addition, we have a memorable Jack Quaid appearance. Unfortunately, other areas of the film are not so memorable.
Although this script is unapologetically dumb and fun, this cannot mask the lifeless moments when our leads are not on screen. Without Cena's undeniable energy and Elba's effortless charm to carry the absurdity, we have a series of scenes with underdeveloped characters that are painfully mundane. A prime example is our antagonist Gradov's “evil” attack on one of his workers. The lack of back-story and clear character motivation makes this formulaic scene all the more underwhelming, with audiences likely checking their watches, waiting for Cena and Elba to return. Priyanka Chopra is serviceable in her role, but when she's required to lead scenes without one of her lead co-stars, there is a noticeable difference.
The film is lazily littered with coincidental occurrences (banana peels, as some may say) that result in our characters escaping situations, and unexplained plot twists that ultimately have little impact aside from confusing the audience.
Glaring screenplay flaws aside, Heads of State achieves its mission of being an entertaining time-pass for audiences on Amazon Prime. The casting of Cena as Derringer is perfect, and his chemistry with Elba picks up right where The Suicide Squad left off. The likelihood is that audiences will forget this action comedy not long after their viewing, but most importantly, they will have a good time while watching it thanks to Cena and Elba.
Heads of State is now available to watch on Prime Video
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