If you take away a few cell phones and gadgets, Heads of State could undoubtedly be a relic of the 1980s. And that is, arguably, its greatest virtue. An old-fashioned oddball buddy movie, seemingly with no ambition other than to be a hilarious diversion, achieves that sweet spot—undemanding yet entertaining—that so many modern action comedies fail to find.
At first, one might wonder if they've misjudged their tone. The opening sequence, in which a covert operation to arrest a villain (Paddy Considine) goes fatally awry, feels like a cheap Mission: Impossible. Then there's the somewhat stiff introduction of two feuding world leaders: veteran UK Prime Minister Sam Clarke (Idris Elba), whose declining popularity has made him moody, and newly elected US President Will Derringer (John Cena), a former action star who doesn't see much difference between being a scripted hero and a real one. There's some awkwardness in the early scenes, as Cena's imposing, nonchalant performance doesn't quite match Elba's angry one.
Fortunately, something soon clicks. Starting with a sequence in which Air Force One is shot down, leaving Clarke and Derringer stranded in the Belarusian wilderness, a sense of absurd excitement grows. Clarke becomes a competent survivor, drawing on his old SAS training, while Derringer tries to apply his Hollywood training to real life. He discovers that choreographed fight moves won't help you get through a real fight and that a gunfight is a bit trickier when the enemy is firing live bullets. Cena is always a good choice playing characters with little self-awareness (see also: Peacemaker, Blockers, his brief cameo in Barbie), and Elba manages to get laughs out loud as the more serious character, rolling his eyes at the American braggart.
The absurdity increases as the film progresses, until in the final act it seems to be pushing the limits of believability. It begins by nodding to its own clichés, and the action becomes even crazier. It all culminates in a truly insane car chase that tests the limits of logic, physics, and the athleticism of middle-aged men.
Director: Ilya Naishuller
Writers: Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec, Harrison Query
Stars: Idris Elba, John Cena, Priyanka Chopra Jonas
After a shaky start, director Ilya Naishuller (with a solid track record of extravagant action comedies like Hardcore Henry and Nobody) masters the tone, building the absurdity gradually so that it never falters. He accumulates touches of humor little by little, like a game of Buckaroo!, taking care not to overdo it too much too quickly and cause everything to spiral out of control. By the time it reaches its improbable conclusion, you're likely to roll your eyes at the sheer absurdity of it all, but you'll probably be so amused that you won't feel the need to.
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