Heads of State (2025) Ending Explained – Do Sam & Derringer save the day?

The Review Geek

7 hours ago

Heads of State Plot Summary
Head of State is an Amazon Prime action film starring Idris Elba, John Cena, and Priyanka Chopra. The film follows the U.S. President Will Derringer (John Cena), as he embarks on his first trip to the UK to meet the British Prime Minister Sam Clarke (Idris Elba). These two don't exactly see eye to eye, and things blow up in public during a press conference.
Meanwhile in Spain, a covert mission led by Clarke's ex, Noel, goes awry. The mission to capture a wanted terrorist, Gradov, leaves Noel presumed dead, and the media hounds the two leaders for answers. The rivalry between the two at the press conference makes things worse, causing their advisors to scramble to salvage the situation.
To change the narrative, their advisors suggest that the beefing leaders fly together to the NATO meeting in Trieste on Air Force One.
What happens during the flight?
After putting up a united front, the two leaders embark on their journey. During the flight, Derringer and Sam continue to bicker over their differences. It turns out Sam doesn't respect Derringer because he was a renowned action star who ran for president and won. On the other hand, Derringer is hurt that Sam subtly endorsed his rival during the campaign season.
As they bicker over drinks, Gradov's inside man launches an attack on the plane. He also sends the plane's location to his colleagues. His colleagues launch an air attack, bringing the plane down. Thankfully, thanks to the bodyguard, Derringer and Sam survive. However, everyone assumes they died along with the others in the crash.
What happens after the crash?
Derringer and Sam land in Belarus (enemy territory) near the border of Poland. As the world mourns the two leaders, Derringer and Sam bicker over their next options as they make their way to the safe house in Poland. Derringer wants to make contact with his team, but Sam fears it is too risky, given the recent breach. He believes there has to be a spy in their midst.
They decide to hot-wire a car, but that puts them in more danger than they anticipated. An epic fight scene ensues with some Belarusian men before an old lady offers them help. She sneaks them across the border and delivers them safely to the safe house.
Unfortunately, Gradov used the change of guard in the American government to infiltrate Echelon, a secret surveillance programme. This leads Gradov right to the safe house after the programme intercepts footage of Derringer and Sam arriving at the safe house in Warsaw. Gradov sends his men after them.
What happens at the safe house?
At the safe house, Sam and Derringer meet the station agent, Marty Comer. Marty is elated to meet his hero, Derringer, even under these circumstances. Before they can come up with a playbook, Gradov's men attack them. Comer sacrifices his life to give the two a chance to escape. They are about to be cornered when Noel miraculously appears and saves the day. Apparently, a bulletproof vest saved her life, and she has been low-key investigating Gradov, which led her to Sam and Derringer.
In Trieste, a diplomatic crisis unfolds as sensitive documents are leaked from the Echelon servers, testing the limits of diplomatic relations. The documents expose covert missions amongst NATO nations against each other. Gradov is using Echelon to tear NATO apart, but the Vice President, currently the acting President, is working to save NATO.
Why is Gradov after the US and the UK?
According to Noel, Gradov used to be a weapons developer working along with his son. His son was a genius scientist with incredible breakthroughs. He was on the brink of making the first nuclear reactor incapable of melting down when he was killed during a mission.
The UK and the US took his technology and claimed it as their own. In fact, the press conference was to launch the technology. Gradov is after revenge and won't stop at anything to kill the men who killed his son. Now, Noel, Sam, and Derringer have to figure out who helped Gradov before reaching out to their teams.
Derringer thinks the spy is Sam's right-hand man, Quincy. Simultaneously, Noel has to get them to Trieste, currently the safest place on the planet.
Does the trio make it to Trieste?
The three of them make it on a train and start their journey to Spain. During the ride, Noel and Sam try to get closure from their past relationship. It turns out they were in the army together, but Sam gave it up to run for office. Noel wasn't ready to do so, and they broke up. However, they still have feelings for each other, and Derringer encourages Sam to pursue Noel again.
Unfortunately, the Echelon servers pick up on their location. Gradov sends two men after them. Luckily, one of the men is Arthur. Arthur is Gradov's IT specialist. Before he dies, he gives the trio a clue to find the spy. He sends them to a secret, secure location and gives them a prompt that will allow them to run a programme and check Gradov's communications.
The trio jumps out of the train and makes it to the secret location. Once again, Gradov finds them. This time, he personally comes after them. The trio manages to get into the programme and discover the identity of the spy. In a surprising turn of events, the spy turns out to be Bradshaw, Derringer's chief of staff.
Unfortunately, Gradov launches a missile at the building while Sam is inside. Derringer and Noel assume Sam is dead and make their way to Trieste. They need to make it in time to save NATO from falling apart. After getting to the Port of Trieste, Derringer calls the acting President, Kirk, and fills her in on the situation. He orders her to send the presidential car, the Beast, to pick them up.
Do they save NATO?
In another twist, it is revealed that Kirk was the true mastermind behind everything. She used Bradshaw as a cover and had her men ready to take out Gradov. Unfortunately for her, Gradov, Sam, and Derringer all make it to Trieste as the NATO meetings start.
Gradov's men come after Sam and Noel with a renewed vengeance. A wild car chase ensues as Gradov tries to take them out. Sam arrives in a fire truck and tries to intervene. The chase continues, and Sam is forced to jump into the Beast and take over the wheel. Thanks to his mad driving skills and the art of dodging bullets and missiles, they barely make it to the meeting.
Just as the countries start voting to pull out of NATO, Sam and Derringer arrive and give a passionate speech on unity. Before they can vote, Gradov and his men infiltrate the building and open fire. An intense fight scene ensues as they each take down their multiple attackers. Gradov is about to escape, but Sam and Derringer work as a team to take him down. They manage to kill Gradov when his plane explodes after a crash.
How does Heads of State end?
Two months after the whole ordeal, the media reports that the NATO alliance remains strong. The film ends with Sam flirting with Noel over texts since she is away on a mission. In the meantime, he takes Derringer for lunch, and they bicker over which country between the two has better food condiments. We also get a sweet surprise that Comer also made it out of the safe house alive.