New ‘thrill ride' action movie dominates Amazon Prime Video charts
Heads of State was released on July 2, and followed Idris Elba as the UK Prime Minister, whose 'special relationship' with the US President – aka John Cena – crumbles when they find themselves targeted by a ruthless terrorist organization, and betrayed by someone in their teams.
They end up stranded in Belarus and, unsure of who else to trust, are forced to put their bickering to one side so they can both make it out alive.
Priyanka Chopra, Paddy Considine, Stephen Root and Jack Quaid are also among the star-studded cast, with Ilya Naishuller serving as director.
Despite only premiering on streaming a few days ago, the flick has dominated charts on the streaming platform so far, and is currently in the number one spot in both the UK and US.
Fans and critics have clearly been enjoying the action, as Heads of State claims a 67% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, compared to a 76% ranking from the audience.
Heaping praise, Robert M penned: 'Heads of State offers up that rare buddy movie with lots of action without taking itself too seriously.
'It develops its characters with adept writing and direction whilst it's lead actors bring in strong performances resulting in a thoroughly entertaining movie perfect for its 4th of July debut. I enjoyed this thoroughly [sic].'
Shelly S agreed: 'I enjoyed this. It was a solid action flick with some funny stuff and Cena is really becoming a decent actor. He knows his strengths and he continues to choose films that play to those.
'It's fun seeing Idris is a role a little less serious. There are some fun cameos and lots of crazy action.'
Josh H said: 'Fun and entertaining. A thrill ride we have all seen before, but I am here for it. Cena and Elba have great chemistry. A good watch!'
'Super fun buddy action comedy that reminds you of a well done 90's film,' Marcus A posted. 'Action was really cool and better than most action films now days but had a fun, timeless comedy back and forth, feels like Lethal Weapon but with US and British humor dynamic.
'The bad guys were forgettable, probably only fault with the film but worth watching.'
'We need more movies like this, pure, old, mindless action fun,' Red I added. 'Cena did a great job, all actor pulled their weight, the action was top notch. Great action flick, overall.'
The huge success of the film has many fans desperate for a sequel, and director Ilya already has plans in mind for where Heads of State could go next. More Trending
In fact, he is keen to reunite with Jack Quaid, who stole the show as CIA station chief Marty Comer in a brief action scene.
Unpacking the future of the films, the filmmaker told Screenrant: 'If [people] watch the movie and enjoy it, and Amazon feels like it makes sense to do a second one, absolutely. I'd love to get more of Jack in there [and] more of Marty.'
'If it's not Heads of State 2, I will be bugging Jack to work together again,' he added. 'Because he comes in, he knows what he's doing, he's an incredible energy in terms of his positivity and the desire to not just be here and do a great job, but to go above and beyond.'
Heads of State is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video now.
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