What do you get when you mix John Cena, Idris Elba, and NATO?
If director Ilya Naishuller has any say in it, you get a hilarious action movie — and a surprisingly powerful duo.
“Heads of State” follows the new U.S. President Wil Derringer (Cena) and his political rivalry with the British Prime Minister Sam Clarke (Elba), one that would be deserving of a Charli XCX “Girl, so confusing” edit if it were a TikTok. The two are onboard when Air Force One gets shot down right before a NATO summit, leaving them stranded in the middle of Europe and forced to squash their beef. While the rest of the world thinks Derringer and Clarke are dead, the duo embark on a journey to protect themselves from a band of Russian arms dealers and make it back to the summit before secrets between NATO members are leaked to the public.
Needless to say, the stakes are pretty high for these officials, but “Heads of State” finds its cadence when balancing the insane amount of complications with pure, dumb humor. Derringer is a movie star-turned-politician, one who addresses the American public like he’s reading a monologue from the next “G.I. Joe.” His utter incompetence in office is the perfect contrast for the stoic ex-military Clarke, who swears he’s better than Derringer’s antics but ultimately banters right back with him. The pair’s riffs are electric when they’re running from Belarus to Poland in search of allies, reminding you not to take the crazed action too seriously. They argue about pretty much everything, from Derringer’s crassness at a press conference to Clarke’s decision to take the President’s political opponent to fish and chips.
Clarke and Derringer certainly dominate the bulk of “Heads of State’s” runtime with their adventure, but the ensemble cast still manages to shine alongside the pair. Priyanka Chopra is a firecracker as senior CIA agent Noel Bissett, making absolute fools out of the two officials when saving them from danger more than a few times. Jack Quaid’s Marty Comer absolutely steals the show — and the audience’s hearts — in a badass sequence where he booby traps a safe house in Warsaw like an older Kevin McCallister from “Home Alone.”
It’s no coincidence that “Heads of State” dropped on Amazon Prime just in time for the Fourth of July weekend. Not only is it an absurd, action-packed comedy that will pair perfectly with a bomb pop and cheeseburger, but it also manages to broach a sincere conversation surrounding international relations. Like Derringer and Clarke’s tumultuous relationship, the very fabric of NATO is threatened by rumor and secrecy, forcing each government official to question whom they can trust as well as confront their own responsibility in maintaining the alliance and preventing war. Even if the focus is meant to be on the fight scenes and explosions, “Heads of State” can still serve as a reminder that we can all be a little better at coming across the aisle to understand one another.
“Heads of State” is now streaming on Amazon Prime.
(Feature photo courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios)
