Heads of State review: John Cena and Idris Elba bring the fun
John Cena and Idris Elba signed up to work together again on the action comedy Heads of State soon after starring alongside each other in 2021’s The Suicide Squad. It took a few years to get the movie made, but it was worth the wait as they have a brilliant on-screen partnership.
Cena plays a former action movie star and relatively new U.S. President Will Derringer and Elba portrays his long-running U.K. counterpart, Prime Minister Sam Clarke. They do not see eye to eye and approach their roles in very different ways. However, they are forced to work together as a team when Air Force One is hijacked on the way to a NATO summit and they crash land in the woods of Belarus.
Heads of State is so much fun. Cena and Elba have a wonderful rapport and it’s wonderful watching them trade barbs, bicker and squabble their way through this adventure. I have often praised Cena’s willingness to be silly on camera and he does so again here, totally committing to the bit and looking the fool as much as possible. I also have to give a shout-out to Jack Quaid, who makes his mark in a short but memorable sequence in a safe house.
Cena and Elba are both well-versed in making action movies – as is their co-star Priyanka Chopra Jonas, playing agent Noel Bisset – so it’s no surprise that the action setpieces are dynamic, entertaining and funny and accompanied by a banging song. It helps that they’re being directed by Ilya Naishuller, who brought us the surprise action hit Nobody in 2021.
There are only a few downsides – it’s obvious who the inside man is, Paddy Considine‘s villain is rather weak and stereotypical, and it’s probably a little too long. But those are only little niggles.
Heads of State is a laugh-out-loud action-comedy with hilarious buddy chemistry between Cena and Elba. Enjoy!
Now streaming on Prime Video