Sometimes, a big, dumb action/comedy that’s executed well is just what you need, and Heads of State is exactly that, thanks to the entertaining chemistry and game performances from Idris Elba, John Cena and Priyanka Chopra Jonas.

Premise: When popular Hollywood-action-star-turned-US-President Will Derringer (John Cena) and embattled, pessimistic UK Prime Minister Sam Clarke (Idris Elba) are betrayed by forces within their inner circles, they have to go on the run together. Hunted by Russian arms dealer Viktor Gradov (Paddy Considine), their only hope of survival may be missing MI6 agent Noelle Bisset (Priyanka Chopra Jonas).

Review:

I'm a great believer in judging films by what they set out to accomplish – and Heads of State is a film that’s clearly just about having some fun. This is a classic, old school, mis-matched buddy movie … where it just so happens that the central odd-couple are the President of the United States and the British Prime Minister. Despite their positions, all of the beloved cliches are present and correct, as the pair start off hating each other before circumstances force them to set aside their differences to work together yadda-yadda-yadda...

If it sounds like I’m being negative – I'm really not. What makes Heads of State so much fun is that everyone involved knows how ridiculous it is, and they’re just having fun with it. Director Ilya Naishuller follows up his fun-but-brutal Nobody with this fun-but-surprisingly-bloodless (it’s only rated 12A/PG-13) action/comedy, and the action sequences are playfully yet elegantly choreographed. An early fight scene sets the tone wonderfully, as Will Derringer (John Cena) and Sam Clarke (Idris Elba) quickly find themselves out of their depth with some local thugs, but somehow manage to survive thanks to a series lucky coincidences and clumsy accidents.

“…reunites John Cena’s & Idris Elba’s enjoyable comedic double act…”

John Cena and Idris Elba are clearly having a great time spoofing their usual action hero personas, and this movie reunites the pair after their enjoyable comedic double act in 2021’s The Suicide Squad. Here, both of their characters have just enough action experience to suggest they may be able to survive – John Cena’s Will Derringer having been a action movie star previously, and Idris Elba’s Sam Clarke having served in the military before going into politics. I think John Cena does some of his best work in the action/comedy arena (last year’s Jackpot! was a lot of fun too), but it feels like Idris Elba rarely gets the same opportunities to cut loose, so it was nice to see him having fun here.

That frees up Priyanka Chopra Jonas to fill the action hero role, and she absolutely excels. She still gets to have fun and play with the comedy (her character is obsessed with bad puns, which is a trait I could relate to), but she’s also the movie’s badass when it comes to the action – and in her sequences, Ilya Naishuller dials back on the humour and really showcases MI6 agent Noelle Bisset’s (and Priyanka Chopra Jonas’) impressive physical skills. I’m not sure whether Priyanka Chopra Jonas wants to build a career as an action star, but based on her performance here, she could definitely do so if that was something she was interested in.

“…light-hearted popcorn entertainment…”

Outside of the main trio, the film has some interesting cameos, with Paddy Considine appearing as a (it has to be said, largely forgettable) Russian arms dealer, Jack Quaid making a comedic appearance as an overexcited CIA officer, and Carla Gugino trying to hold down the fort politically as the US Vice President. But none of them really get a great deal to do as the main focus remains on the central trio (although Jack Quaid comes close to stealing the show during his brief cameo).

For a film that’s essentially just a piece of light-hearted popcorn entertainment, it’s nice to see that the filmmakers at least try to make it about something – so rather than the usual generic terrorist plot that needs to be foiled, Heads of State wants to remind audiences (in a fun way) about the importance of global cooperation and of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with your allies. In fact, a central theme of the film is the importance of NATO as a unifying bond between the US and its European allies – none of which you would think would need to be said out loud in this day and age, were it not for the fact that the current real life POTUS seems more politically aligned with the villains in this movie than the heroes.

“…everyone involved feels like they’re having fun…”

So credit where credit’s due to the makers of Heads of State for trying to get home a simple message about the importance of international cooperation, in a time when messages as simple as “Nazis are bad” seems to have been forgotten by so many audience members.

Despite all that, Heads of State is a film that just sets out to be a bit of fun, and if you have any affection for the classic action/comedy buddy movies of old, you’ll find a lot to love here. Everyone involved feels like they’re at the top of their game and having fun, and I’d like to see Cena and Elba team up together on a project for a third time, as they’re an inspired comedic pairing. I’m also hoping this isn’t the last high-profile action role we see Priyanka Chopra Jonas in, and based on this and Nobody, I’ll also be interested to see what Ilya Naishuller does next.