5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Maverick
Amid heaps of political chaos, Heads of State delivers humour and heart in unexpected ways
There is much to enjoy in this comedy that has its stereotypes, but manages to avoid the pitfalls that would make it feel outdated.
On paper, Heads of State seems like the usual half-baked action comedy that relies on low-brow humour and big explosions to keep its audience interested. But even though this Amazon Prime Video release does contain moments like that, it's much smarter, better made and more entertaining than most 'straight-to-streaming' action movies.
The far-fetched but fun premise sees US President Will Derringer (John Cena) and British Prime Minister Sam Clarke (Idris Elba) forced to work together to survive when Air Force One is shot down over Belarus and they're the only survivors. They've been targeted by Russian arms dealer Viktor Gradov (Paddy Considine), who's also responsible for wiping out a CIA-MI6 task force led by British agent Noelle Bisset (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) sent to capture him in the film's opening sequence.
In the absence of Derringer and Clarke, US Vice-President Elizabeth Kirk (Carla Gugino) must keep Nato from disintegrating during a summit in Trieste, Italy, after a leak of classified documents revealing that the allies were spying on each other.
The least implausible part of this set-up is that Derringer used to be an action movie star whose bravado irritates the buttoned-down Clarke, who worked his way up from a housing estate. This forms the basis for a classic mismatched buddy action comedy in which antagonism between the leads turns into grudging respect and eventually friendship.
The two main characters could have been nothing more than broad stereotypes of Americans and Brits, but screenwriters Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec (Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol) give the characters some depth and nuance, providing Cena and Elba a lot to work with.
Despite the impression his big-lug appearance and professional wrestling past creates, Cena is surprisingly good at playing characters who lack self-awareness. Derringer might be brash, but he's also naively optimistic and genuinely wants to make the world a better place. This grates on veteran politician Clarke, the typically more cynical Brit grumbling about the clueless American. But underneath it all, Clarke has the same ideals, and it's highly enjoyable watching his tough exterior slowly start to warm to the golden retriever persona by his side. Elba's charisma is on full display and he and Cena make a likeable double act.
It's refreshing to watch a film that shies away from gratuitous violence or the nasty, cruel tone that permeates many modern action movies. There's a sense of fun and lots of wit in the action sequences and fights, which contain many clever, tongue-in-cheek moments, as Clarke with his army background ribs Derringer, who's only been in movie stunt fights.
It's no spoiler to reveal that Bisset survives the opening sequence and catches up with the two politicians, whom she tries to keep alive while they're being pursued by Gradov's assassins. Chopra Jonas' no-nonsense, ultra-competent spy is a welcome element to the central dynamic as she has a past with Clarke and also frequently shows up the men in the fight scenes (it's emphasised that Derringer is happily married, so there's no love rivalry between him and Clarke).
Unexpected shots and humorous sequences
Though the film does feel a bit long at the halfway mark, director Ilya Naishuller (Nobody) has a firm grip on balancing the comedy and thrills, while using some unexpected shots and humorous sequences (such as a fast-paced flashback capturing Bisset's search for Derringer and Clarke) to add some originality.
South African viewers will spot Sharlto Copley in a cameo role, a possible nod to his working with Naishuller on the director's first film, Hardcore Henry (2015). Jack Quaid (The Boys) also enlivens an action scene as a young CIA agent whose excitement at meeting Derringer belies his ingenuity as a spy. It all culminates in a hugely enjoyable final act in which Clarke must drive the US presidential car in reverse through the narrow streets of Trieste while Bisset and Derringer try to fend off a seemingly endless number of assassins with an infinite amount of weapons.
Given that the film was mostly shot in 2023, it's also unexpectedly timely and even daring in the current political climate as it earnestly defends Nato and the merit in working together to protect democracy.
But this movie isn't focused on messaging — it's focused on entertaining its audience, and viewers looking for a film that can be enjoyed by the whole family should definitely give this throwback to the buddy action movies of the '80s and '90s a chance. DM
