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The Guardian
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Heads of State review – John Cena and Idris Elba sell fun throwback Amazon comedy
Rather than give the world an escape, Heads of State, Amazon's throwback buddy comedy, thrums the tension in US foreign relations. Suicide Squad veterans Idris Elba and John Cena are redeployed in this gun show from Nobody director Ilya Naishuller, respectively, as the UK prime minister and US president at loggerheads. President Derringer, barely six months in office, resents the PM for not doing more to help him get elected. Prime Minister Clarke, a six-year incumbent mired in an approval ratings slump, has already dismissed the president – a swaggering former action hero – as a Schwarzenegger knockoff. After a joint press conference goes sideways and spoils the announcement of a Nato-supported energy initiative, the pair are forced on an Air Force One ride to help repair the PR damage – but it gets worse when the plane is shot down. As it turns out, the Nato energy thingy was cribbed from a nuclear scientist that alliance forces neutralized to head off the threat of another Hiroshima – and his father, a psycho arms dealer named Viktor Gradov (a rueful Paddy Considine), is bent on revenge. In fact, the two-hour film opens with Noel – a skull-cracking MI6 agent played by Priyanka Chopra – leading a covert strike on Gradov in the middle of the world famous Tomatina festival in Buñol, Spain, that turns upside down when she and her team are felled in the food fight. That botched operation – part of a wider sabotage, as we'll learn later – is top of mind when the president and prime minister bail out of Air Force One (under attack from without and within) into a Belarusian wood. From there, they must find their way back to safe harbor – not knowing whom they can trust when they get there, of course. All the while they're being chased by Gradov's hell-raising henchmen Sasha and Olga 'the Killers', whom Aleksandr Kuznetsov and Katrina Durden play like Boris and Natasha, but eviler. It's the kind of paint-by-numbers summer tentpole that would have drawn a crowd in 2013 – when Olympus Has Fallen and White House Down were doing serious box office numbers. The fact that Amazon MGM went straight to streaming with it, instead of doing an exclusive theatrical release first, speaks volumes about the state of play in the film industry – and, perhaps, the mixed reception for G20, their straight-to-streaming shoot-em-up about the female president who has to fight her way out of a global summit. But where a Bezos studio head could make the case that Viola Davis isn't a solo draw (even as her body of work suggests otherwise), the lack of faith in Heads' theatrical potential is beyond comprehension. John Cena remains one of, if not the biggest draw in professional wrestling, while popping up in everything from the Fast and Furious franchise to the Simpsons. Idris, star of big (Hobbs & Shaw) and small screen (Luther, The Wire), has been touted as a possible James Bond successor for a solid decade. Chopra is a Bollywood superstar who successfully pivoted to network TV and married a Jonas brother. Why did Amazon think this film wouldn't do well at the cineplex? They should've had more confidence in their leads, all three of whom meet the broad performance profile for a popcorn thriller. Elba in particular does a deft job of toggling from his Odd Couple chemistry with Cena (the exceptional actor-wrestler besides Dave Bautista who can really play the margins between tough and tender) to the romantic chemistry with Chopra (who gets to kick ass and take punches just like in her Quantico days). The rest of the cast delivers, too. Richard Coyle plays against his Coupling type as the PM's dour right hand, while Sarah Niles – with her resting 'bitch, please' face – is a study in quiet strength again as the president's top aide and best bud. Stephen Root, a hacker double agent, is always a treat. And Jack Quaid, fresh off playing lead in Novocaine, hams it up so hard in his handful of appearances as a CIA safe house watchman that he earns his very own end-credits scene. Throughout, Naishuller cooks up action sequences that leave plenty of room for pratfalls and one-liners. (The PM, a Royal Army vet, detonating a smoke bomb in his own face; puns are Noel's love language; etc) And the writing – a team effort between Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec (Ghost Protocol) and Harrison Query (who also gets story credit) – has command. When two major characters went missing for chunks of the film (Chopra's was gone for nearly an hour), they would smartly bring them back with a snappy, Edgar Wright-style montage explaining where they had been. Bleeding hearts will keep watching for the sermon on Nato's value as a peace-keeping force, and maybe look away when it ends in a massive shootout. Fun, fiery and totally frivolous, Heads of State is a perfect summer movie with great potential for future sequels. (The end scene certainly sets that up.) But getting it to launch first in theaters next time might take a global coalition. Do we have the votes? Heads of State is now available on Amazon Prime
The Guardian
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Heads of State review – John Cena and Idris Elba sell fun throwback Amazon comedy
Rather than give the world an escape, Heads of State, Amazon's throwback buddy comedy, thrums the tension in US foreign relations. Suicide Squad veterans Idris Elba and John Cena are redeployed in this gun show from Nobody director Ilya Naishuller, respectively, as the UK prime minister and US president at loggerheads. President Derringer, barely six months in office, resents the PM for not doing more to help him get elected. Prime Minister Clarke, a six-year incumbent mired in an approval ratings slump, has already dismissed the president – a swaggering former action hero – as a Schwarzenegger knockoff. After a joint press conference goes sideways and spoils the announcement of a Nato-supported energy initiative, the pair are forced on an Air Force One ride to help repair the PR damage – but it gets worse when the plane is shot down. As it turns out, the Nato energy thingy was cribbed from a nuclear scientist that alliance forces neutralized to head off the threat of another Hiroshima – and his father, a psycho arms dealer named Viktor Gradov (a rueful Paddy Considine), is bent on revenge. In fact, the two-hour film opens with Noel – a skull-cracking MI6 agent played by Priyanka Chopra – leading a covert strike on Gradov in the middle of the world famous Tomatina festival in Buñol, Spain, that turns upside down when she and her team are felled in the food fight. That botched operation – part of a wider sabotage, as we'll learn later – is top of mind when the president and prime minister bail out of Air Force One (under attack from without and within) into a Belarusian wood. From there, they must find their way back to safe harbor – not knowing whom they can trust when they get there, of course. All the while they're being chased by Gradov's hell-raising henchmen Sasha and Olga 'the Killers', whom Aleksandr Kuznetsov and Katrina Durden play like Boris and Natasha, but eviler. It's the kind of paint-by-numbers summer tentpole that would have drawn a crowd in 2013 – when Olympus Has Fallen and White House Down were doing serious box office numbers. The fact that Amazon MGM went straight to streaming with it, instead of doing an exclusive theatrical release first, speaks volumes about the state of play in the film industry – and, perhaps, the mixed reception for G20, their straight-to-streaming shoot-em-up about the female president who has to fight her way out of a global summit. But where a Bezos studio head could make the case that Viola Davis isn't a solo draw (even as her body of work suggests otherwise), the lack of faith in Heads' theatrical potential is beyond comprehension. John Cena remains one of, if not the biggest draw in professional wrestling, while popping up in everything from the Fast and Furious franchise to the Simpsons. Idris, star of big (Hobbs & Shaw) and small screen (Luther, The Wire), has been touted as a possible James Bond successor for a solid decade. Chopra is a Bollywood superstar who successfully pivoted to network TV and married a Jonas brother. Why did Amazon think this film wouldn't do well at the cineplex? They should've had more confidence in their leads, all three of whom meet the broad performance profile for a popcorn thriller. Elba in particular does a deft job of toggling from his Odd Couple chemistry with Cena (the exceptional actor-wrestler besides Dave Bautista who can really play the margins between tough and tender) to the romantic chemistry with Chopra (who gets to kick ass and take punches just like in her Quantico days). The rest of the cast delivers, too. Richard Coyle plays against his Coupling type as the PM's dour right hand, while Sarah Niles – with her resting 'bitch, please' face – is a study in quiet strength again as the president's top aide and best bud. Stephen Root, a hacker double agent, is always a treat. And Jack Quaid, fresh off playing lead in Novocaine, hams it up so hard in his handful of appearances as a CIA safe house watchman that he earns his very own end-credits scene. Throughout, Naishuller cooks up action sequences that leave plenty of room for pratfalls and one-liners. (The PM, a Royal Army vet, detonating a smoke bomb in his own face; puns are Noel's love language; etc) And the writing – a team effort between Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec (Ghost Protocol) and Harrison Query (who also gets story credit) – has command. When two major characters went missing for chunks of the film (Chopra's was gone for nearly an hour), they would smartly bring them back with a snappy, Edgar Wright-style montage explaining where they had been. Bleeding hearts will keep watching for the sermon on Nato's value as a peace-keeping force, and maybe look away when it ends in a massive shootout. Fun, fiery and totally frivolous, Heads of State is a perfect summer movie with great potential for future sequels. (The end scene certainly sets that up.) But getting it to launch first in theaters next time might take a global coalition. Do we have the votes? Heads of State is now available on Amazon Prime
CNET
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CNET
British Comedy Caper Deep Cover is the Perfect Film to Kick Off Cozy-Crime Summer
You can't move for hit British crime shows right now. Whether it's Dept. Q or Adolescence on Netflix; MobLand on Paramount Plus; or Slow Horses on Apple TV Plus (even if that one's technically more of a spy show), gritty and binge-worthy content is showing up on the best streaming services, all delivered in a vibrant array of British accents. Deep Cover feels like a real crowd-pleaser. Peter Mountain/Metronome Film But a shift is happening. We're about to enter cozy-crime summer, when the genre will get an injection of lighthearted comedy, largely thanks to the much-anticipated adaptation of Richard Osman's Thursday Murder Club book series, set to land on Netflix this August. In the meantime, Prime Video is getting in there first with Deep Cover -- an action-comedy that flips the British crime script from serious to silly in the best possible way. In the film, which arrives on Prime Video on June 12, an unlikely trio of improv actors, all of differing skill levels, is recruited as undercover police officers and infiltrates London's underworld, theoretically to bust a drug ring. Needless to say, am-dram chaos ensues. Bryce Dallas Howard plays a failed stand-up comic turned improv teacher who ropes her two most hapless students into the gang: a method actor with delusions of grandeur, played by Orlando Bloom, and a nervy IT office nerd, played by Nick Mohammed. Together the three, nicknaming themselves Bonnie, Roach and the Squire, fudge their way through meetings with gangland bosses, each more intimidating than the next, and somehow manage to find friendship and romance along the way. I went to the film's premiere at SXSW London last week and came away convinced that Deep Cover should be at the top of everyone's watch list this weekend. The combination of comedy and action lands it squarely in crowd-pleaser territory, somewhere between Hot Fuzz and The Fall Guy. Of Deep Cover's three stars, it's Mohammed who has the most established comedy chops and gets the biggest laughs (you'll likely know him best as Nathan Shelley in Ted Lasso -- the kit man who defects to become a rival coach). That's not to say Bloom, who steps somewhat out of his comfort zone in this role, and Howard don't also deliver. The chemistry between the three lead characters keeps you rooting for them long after their "yes, and..." improv approach to undercover work seems to be failing them. The film's director, Tom Kingsley, has also worked on the Bafta-winning TV show Stath Lets Flats (available on Max), which is simultaneously the most Greek and most British piece of television you could ever hope to watch, and which I've long been convinced is a work of significant comic genius. Deep Cover has the same echoes of awkward, almost farcical humor, but with an Amazon-size budget behind it. Still, as Kingsley explained during a Q&A following the premiere, the budget was far smaller than anyone might expect for such a production. Bringing in bona fide Hollywood stars Bloom and Johnson attracted more funding, as did Amazon hopping on board. But the film was reportedly made on something of a shoestring by Hollywood standards. Still, it's easy to see where the injection of cash ended up. Deep Cover's action scenes are sometimes outlandishly slapstick, perfectly befitting of the three clowns at their center, and at times so graphic or high octane that they don't always jell with the overall tenor of the film. It's a minor niggle in the scheme of things, and one that shouldn't deter you. For all its silliness and stunts, Deep Cover is ultimately a heartwarming tale about developing adult friendships at that stage in life when you might feel like the moments for such opportunities have passed. If you're looking for something easy and fun to watch this weekend, then look no further.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Netflix Sets Korean Comedy Thriller ‘Husbands in Action'
Netflix is commencing production on new Korean action comedy thriller, 'Husbands in Action,' featuring an unconventional rescue mission with a comedic twist. The film follows Chung-sik, a dedicated Drug Squad detective, who must team up with his ex-wife's current husband, Min-seok, a veterinarian, to rescue her from a dangerous criminal organization. Director Park Gyu-tae, known for his recent comedy hit '6/45,' will bring his characteristic wit and humor to the project. More from Variety ADVERTISEMENT Jin Sun-kyu ('Uprising,' 'The Uncanny Counter Season 2: Counter Punch') will portray Chung-sik, while Gong Myoung ('Way Back Love,' 'Citizen of a Kind') takes on the role of Min-seok. Both actors previously worked together in the film 'Extreme Job.' The cast also includes Kim Ji-suk ('Recruit' Season 2, 'When the Camellia Blooms') as Do-joon, the tech-savvy drug gang leader; Yoon Kyung-ho ('The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call') as rival gang leader Yong-gang; Kang Han-na ('About Family,' 'Start-Up') as Si-nae, who actively fights against her captors; and Lee Da-hee ('Single's Inferno,' 'The Divorce Insurance') as Hye-ran, Do-joon's wife and key player in the drug world. 'Husbands in Action' will be produced by TPS Company, the production house behind '6/45,' 'Hard Hit,' 'Seobok,' and 'Fabricated City,' with Netflix handling distribution. The film will premiere exclusively on the streaming platform. Netflix's upcoming Korea slate includes 'Lost in Starlight,' the platform's first Korean animated feature; 'Wall to Wall' (also known as '84 Square Meters'), which explores housing anxieties central to contemporary Korean society; 1998 Busan-set youth romance 'Love Untangled'; 'Mantis,' a spinoff from the hit 'Kill Boksoon'; 'Good News,' a 1970s-set hijacking drama; and 'Great Flood,' a sci-fi disaster film. Best of Variety Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
