Heads of State Review Roundup: What Critics Are Saying About Upcoming Action Comedy Film

International Business Times

01-07-2025

Ahead of its premiere on Wednesday (July 2), the initial reviews of the film from the critics are coming in. The American action comedy film, directed by Ilya Naishuller, stars John Cena and Idris Elba as Will Derringer, the President of the United States, and Sam Clarke, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. It follows the two world leaders after they decide to keep aside their rivalry to take precautions against a global conspiracy. They plan to work together after becoming targets of a ruthless foreign adversary.
The movie has not received a favourable response from the critics. As of Tuesday (July 1), the film had a score of 60 percent from 15 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, and clocked in at 53 percent on Metacritic from six reviews. The movie, from Amazon MGM Studio, is all set to premiere on Prime Video on Wednesday (July 2). It also stars Priyanka Chopra, Jack Quaid, Paddy Considine, Stephen Root, and Carla Gugino.
Here are the key excerpts from a few prominent critics following the pre release last week:
The Hollywood Reporter's film and television critic Caryn James wrote in her review, "An alternate history with different world leaders would be great escapism at the moment. Heads of State isn't that, despite a here-and-there subtext that turns out to be more pointedly political than you see coming. The film, from Nobody director Ilya Naishuller, is a typical action-comedy that benefits greatly from its two stars, and slightly from their unexpected characters, before plunging fast into explosive but trite set-pieces. You've never before seen John Cena as the American president and Idris Elba as the British prime minister, but by the end you may feel as if you've seen it all before".
Deadline's Chief Film Critic Pete Hammond wrote, "Heads of State is solely interested in burning the whole thing down, doing its stars no service, and letting the explosions and gunplay take center stage in a movie where action-to-the-max is our filmmaker's mantra. [It is] a movie full of explosions, chases, and stuntmen being paid overtime".
Collider's film and television critic Nate Richard wrote in his review, "Make no mistake, Heads of State is not the kind of movie that will make your best-of-the-year list. But if you need a big, dumb action movie with two buff guys to kick back and down some beers while watching, you are in luck. Like the movies it was clearly inspired by, the "plot" of Heads of State is nonsensical. None of it is remotely realistic (but who cares in a movie like this), there are plot-holes galore, and the film wastes much of its supporting cast, such as Considine, Carla Gugino, Sarah Niles, and Stephen Root, in roles that don't give them anything remotely interesting to do. It's the very definition of a movie that requires the viewer to turn off their brain, which sometimes is to its detriment".
Screen Rant's senior film critic Mae Abdulbaki wrote, "Directed by Ilya Naishuller from a screenplay by Josh Applebaum, André Nemec, and Harrison Query, Heads of State is the kind of movie that doesn't require much from its audience beyond shutting off our brains while simultaneously leaning into political stereotypes. It's not a particularly good movie, and, at nearly two hours long, the film overstays its welcome. Its saving grace is the decision to ground the film with an enemies-to-friends trope for its leading duo that mostly works in its favor".
CinemaBlend's TV Editor Nick Venable wrote in his review, "With its surprisingly deft blend of high-stakes action and light-hearted comedy that bumps against the PG-13 rating, Heads of State is 100% the kind of guilt-free popcorn-chomping good time that Amazon MGM should be making, and is definitely worthy of a trip to the theater, as opposed to streaming at home. President John Cena's biceps deserve to be seen on the biggest screen possible... because America".