Heads of State Elba and Cena Deliver Fun Amazon Comedy
Rather than providing a getaway for the rest of the world, Amazon's vintage buddy comedy Heads of State highlights the stress in US foreign relations. Suicide Squad veterans Idris Elba and John Cena return in this gun show from Nobody filmmaker Ilya Naishuller as the UK prime minister and US president, respectively. President Derringer, who has only been in office for six months, resents the Prime Minister for not doing more to help him win the election. Prime Minister Clarke, a six-year incumbent with low approval ratings, has already described the president, a swaggering former action hero, as a Schwarzenegger copycat.
As it turns out, the Nato energy item was stolen from a nuclear scientist that alliance forces neutralised to prevent another Hiroshima - and his father, a lunatic arms dealer named Viktor Gradov (a rueful Paddy Considine), is out for vengeance. The two-hour film follows Noel, an MI6 agent played by Priyanka Chopra, who leads a clandestine strike against Gradov during the Tomatina festival in Buñol, Spain. However, her squad is killed in a food fight. That bungled operation, which was part of a larger sabotage, as we'll see later, is on the president's and prime minister's minds when they bail out of Air Force One (under attack from both sides) into Belarusian woods. From there, they must navigate their way back to a safe port, not knowing whom they can trust when they arrive. All the while, they are pursued by Gradov's hell-raising minions, Sasha and Olga "the Killers," played by Aleksandr Kuznetsov and Katrina Durden as demonic versions of Boris and Natasha.
That botched operation, which was part of a bigger sabotage, as we'll discover later, is on the president and prime minister's minds as they bail out of Air Force One (under fire from both sides) into Belarusian woods. From there, they must find their way back to a safe port, not knowing whom to trust when they arrive. Gradov's hell-raising minions, Sasha and Olga "the Killers," played by Aleksandr Kuznetsov and Katrina Durden as demonic versions of Boris and Natasha, are following them at all times.
Whereas a Bezos studio executive could argue that Viola Davis isn't a solo draw (despite her body of work indicating otherwise), the lack of faith in Heads' theatrical potential is inexplicable. John Cena remains one of, if not the most popular, figures in professional wrestling, appearing in everything from the Fast and Furious trilogy to The Simpsons. For almost a decade, Idris Elba has been rumoured to be the next James Bond. Chopra is a Bollywood superstar who has successfully transitioned to network television and married a Jonas brother. Why did Amazon believe this film would not perform well at the box office?
They should have been more confident in their leads, all of whom fit the wide performance profile for a popcorn thriller. Elba, in particular, does an excellent job of transitioning from his Odd Couple chemistry with Cena (the exceptional actor-wrestler besides Dave Bautista who can play the margins between tough and tender) to his romantic chemistry with Chopra (who gets to kick ass and take punches just like in Quantico). The rest of the cast also delivers. Richard Coyle plays the Prime Minister's dour right hand, while Sarah Niles - with her resting "bitch, please" expression - is a study in quiet strength as the president's top adviser and best friend.
Stephen Root, a hacker double agent, is always a delight. And Jack Quaid, fresh off his major role in Novocaine, hams it up so much in his few appearances as a CIA safe house watchman that he gets his own end-credits sequence.
Throughout, Naishuller creates action sequences with plenty of potential for pratfalls and one-liners. (The Prime Minister, a Royal Army veteran, detonates a smoke bomb in his face; puns are Noel's love language; etc.) And the writing, a collaboration between Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec (Ghost Protocol), and Harrison Query (who also receives story credit), has command.
When two important characters went absent for significant portions of the film (Chopra was gone for about an hour), they were cleverly brought back with a snappy, Edgar Wright-style montage describing where they had been. Bleeding hearts will wait for the sermon on NATO's usefulness as a peacekeeping force, and may turn away when it ends in a major shootout.
Heads of State is a fun, feisty, and completely frivolous summer movie with plenty of potential for sequels. (The final scene surely establishes that.) However, for it to open first in theatres the next time may require a global alliance. Do we have the vote?