HEADS OF STATE Review

It actually just dawned on me the reason John Cena and Idris Elba have such good chemistry in this new straight-to-Amazon-Prime offering is that they have worked in tandem before in the amazing The Suicide Squad. This isn't their first outing together! No wonder!

Heads Of State sees the duo team up yet again, with Cena playing a movie star turned President Of The United States and Elba in the role of the United Kingdom Prime Minister. The two start off with a contentious relationship, but as the chips fall, they begin to rely on one another and develop a closer bond.

So... a lot like The Suicide Squad for the pairing, actually.

After an opening that sees Priyanka Chopra and her crew of MI6 and CIA heavies get ambushed, the plot to Heads Of State see the two world leaders stuck in Eastern Europe after an assault on Air Force One results in the plane crashing. Together, and against what either wants to do, they must make their way back to the West while a plot unfolds to bring about the end of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and reduce stability in the world.

The team of leaders use their skills both as diplomats and as physically imposing specimens (Elba was previously in the military to go with Cena's action hero credentials) to try to get back to society just in time to save the day!

TWO UPS AND TWO DOWNS

+ There are some very good action set pieces across this picture. The brawl in Belarus with the young ne'er-do-wells. Jack Quaid's scene in Warsaw. The limo assault in the third act. That's the spectacular thing about them, too; the sequences are spread evenly throughout the film, so you are never waiting too long for another great beat to kick in and get your adrenaline pumping.

Director Ilya Naishuller has a good eye for these moments. He has previously worked on such stand-out action flicks as Nobody and Hardcore Henry, and he clearly has a knack for what he does. The way he frames shots of action is extraordinarily well done, and he imagines and depicts action beats in such a fun way.

Look, is this the best action movie I have ever seen? No. It's not got a lot of extended action takes or anything. But it's a heck of a fun ride while you are on board here.

+ This has a strong cast across the board, from the stars (Cena and Elba) through to the smaller roles (Quaid, Carla Gugino, Stephen Root). Cena and Elba are obviously the stars of the show, and they power the film through nearly every single moment of its runtime. Watching Cena continue to grow as an actor is ludicrously fun, and he consistently takes roles that play to his strengths. And Elba is just a terrifically strong performer. He admittedly doesn't always take the best roles, but he's never the reason a weak movie underperforms.

As I noted, the film doesn't start and end with that pairing, though. Jack Quaid continues his wild 2025 with yet another movie here. He's just a hair more than a glorified cameo, as he really hangs around for just a few minutes, but he makes the most of them with another of the flick's best action set pieces. Even in minor roles, he is really making an impression this year.

And then there is the rest of the cast. It's always great to see Gugino continue to get work as she gets older, and that she hasn't been typecast as a pretty face and a killer body. Stephen Root will always be a ton of fun, even if my brain says he will always be the stapler guy from Office Space.

- This movie clearly wants to be R-rated, but... isn't. The action wouldn't be much improved by bad CGI blood splatters everywhere, but Cena is funnier when he gets to let loose. There's no reason this flick didn't just go for the R. It feels like it is constantly butting up against the barrier to that rating, and then backing down.

Like I said, I'm not a guy who thinks buckets of blood always improve a film (Usually! But not always), but letting Cena and Elba go to town on each other with dialogue more reminiscent of The Suicide Squad could never have been a bad thing. This is a streaming movie, too, so what was the hold up on the rating? It couldn't be for box office dollars.

Ultimately, it just feels like a weird choice to back down from the harsher MPAA rating here.

- I can't tell if it's supposed to be a joke or not that a Stallone-like action hero gets elected President, but it feels too prescient in this day and age. And the movie makes it seem like a good thing. Like we really need another celebrity dummy in the Oval Office. Don't get it twisted; this film has a message that would not necessarily be a pro-MAGA one (the ultimate ideal is that the U.S. and the U.K. should be working together with other countries to ensure worldwide safety and eschew isolationism). But I'm really ready in the real world for someone who knows what they are doing to get back in power. I didn't need to be reminded of how weird things could still get.

Heads of State is a little bloated for what it is, but you never feel its runtime, as Cena and Elba are an easy duo to appreciate and cheer for. This action-comedy is much heavier on the action and could have used just a bit more of the comedy aspect, but it's still a good watch.

🍿 SCORE = 60 / 100