I was bummed when this wasn’t the sequel to Chris Rock’s Head of State. I was ready to be more bummed too the more promotional stuff I saw for this movie, which looked like it was carrying a bunch of red flags. And yet, Heads of State is happy to keep calm and carry on, which goes a long way in the streaming action comedy universe, usually devoid of anything resembling entertainment. I guess John Cena succeeded where The Rock could not. Multiple. Times.
Cena plays Will Derringer, the recently elected President/Action Movie Star of the United States. He’s in his honeymoon phase, while his British counterpart Sam Clarke (Idris Elba) is in the weeds of governing. The two see the upcoming NATO summit as a way to mutually benefit each other, reluctantly. But a recently compromised mission in Spain has resurrected arms dealer Viktor Gradov (Paddy Considine) from the shadows murdering multiple joint government agents and rendering key MI6 operative Noelle Bisset (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) MIA. Hmm, seems like these planned photo ops of “partnership” are gonna be put to the test, fo realz.
This movie is banking on Idris Elba and John Cena’s individual greatness fusing together for a great buddy comedy. Not a bad idea, since that chemistry worked hella good in the superhero realm. For the most part, it works, thanks to John Cena. No, not because he’s funnier. As we’ve seen with other wrestlers/action movie stars, Cena could so easily demand to be the alpha/equal, and make sure he never looks silly or loses a fight. But he’s a pretty egoless actor, and in Heads of State, he happily falls into the role he’s best at. Will Derringer spends the whole movie trying to get Sam Clarke to like him, and appears genuinely hurt when any advice/speech he gives is eyerolled away. That energy fuels the movie, as Cena happily falls on the sword of stupidity over and over again. That leads to the pair prickily sniping at one another…with Will slowly winning Sam over with his boyish enthusiasm and earnestness. It’s pitch perfect for Heads of State, keeping the tone light and remind everyone first and foremost this is a funny movie.
So all director Ilya Naishuller has to do is make them look cool when the action part of the story hits. Thankfully, the director has honed his action credentials, and uses the bigger budget to make the movie hella fun. There’s a couple real bangers in there, especially the opening sequence at a Spanish Tomato Festival, and a sick car chase that goes all over the place, and takes a bunch of exciting left turns, both explosive and comedic. And when Naishuller can’t quite deliver on hella big action due to the scene confines, he makes solid attempts at making the fights stand out with either great choreography or humor, usually accompanied by a big pop song. Priyanka Chopra Jonas assists Naishuller a lot here, showcasing those early Quantico TV training days are like riding a bicycle: in scenes with a wrestler and a guy who beat up a lion, she’s the toughest person. I never once reached for my phone watching Heads of State, maybe the best compliment I can give the movie.
The only sad note I feel about Heads of State is I would have loved to see it on the big screen. We’ve got stars, real beautiful locations. Great comedy. Even greater action. This should have been a summer blockbuster in a different world. But if we can’t have that, let’s start the Sarah Niles universe, where all her characters are really persona’s she’s adopting to be a part of British intelligence: infiltrating a Premier League Team, racing cars across the planet, and now helping the US President get close to the Prime Minister. What can’t she do?