HEADS OF STATE

Heads of State never for a second fails to entertain thanks to its exhilarating action sequences, excellent cast and undeniable sense of fun under the direction of Ilya Naishuller, delivering a rip-roaring action comedy that never for a moment takes its foot off the gas pedal.

Buddy comedies and action films go hand in hand, as audiences have seen time and time again with films like Rush Hour, Lethal Weapon and Bad Boys. These films are only as good as the paired leading actors, and with the explosive chemistry of John Cena and Idris Elba at the centre of this film, Heads of State, the latest streaming film from MGM Amazon Studios, is bound to become a fan favourite film of the summer. With director Ilya Naishuller and a more than game supporting cast featuring Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Jack Quaid, Carla Gugino, Sarah Niles and Paddy Considine, what unfolds is everything audiences love about a great summer blockbuster: expertly staged set pieces, wickedly hilarious moments, and an infectious on screen energy from the entire cast that delivers a wildly entertaining film that never for a second fails to thrill.

While Heads of State may not bring anything new to the action genre in terms of story, as it spins a narrative that audiences have seen time and time again, it is not a problem as the screenplay sets the film up for great entertainment. The screenplay lays the runway for a minimum of one action set piece per act, allowing the film to deliver moments of excitement, excellently choreographed and at times brutal action sequences that help to raise the stakes for both the characters and the story. Woven throughout all of it is an undeniable sense of humour, both writing in some great jokes for Cena and Elba to deliver and giving them the basis to improvise and create some truly hilarious moments. Even if the narrative is predictable and you can guess how it will play out fairly early on, knowing the plot beats before they display themselves on screen, it never for a second prevents Heads of State and its stars to deliver a non-stop entertaining jolt of summer blockbuster fun. Whether it be an adrenaline fuelled action sequence or a laugh out loud one liner, the film’s screenplay never fails to give audiences everything they could want from it and more.

Looking at his past filmography, it should be no surprise that Naishuller injects a sense of chaos into Heads of State. Having directed action films like Hardcore Henry and Nobody, Naishuller and his fight choreography team bring an unrelenting drive to the action sequences, locking in on brutal hand to hand combat moments that hit hard, while the vehicular chase sequences carry that larger than life presence with explosions, crashes and undeniable thrills. Mixed in with the energy of the cast, including a delightfully unhinged Jack Quaid in a scene stealing moment and Chopra Jonas who proves herself a more than formidable action star every moment she is given, Naishuller conjures up an action blockbuster that shoots to thrill, and it does exactly that. It really is a shame that Heads of State is not being given the big screen treatment, as watching this one at home just doesn’t do his vision justice nor will have the action sequences popping off the screen as they should.

Ensuring that the individual elements of the film come together is its principal cast, primarily Cena and Elba. In their own rights, both Cena and Elba are actors capable of carrying their own films, and they have shared the screen together as part of James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. But with this collaboration, Cena and Elba find a lightning in a bottle of chemistry that brings Heads of State to life as the film’s co-leads that has an infectious effect on the entire film. The cheap shots that the two of them take in the film’s first act as two heads of state (though one without power) creates a great comedic timing to the onscreen pairing, that only increases as they find themselves fighting for their survival and trying to prove to the other who is more formidable of an opponent. It naturally evolves into a buddy comedy as they find common ground, which only gets more enjoyable when Chopra Jonas’s Noel enters the fold. Chopra Jonas has always had a great on screen presence and she truly shines in the role of Noel as she not only matches and perfectly complements the energy of Cena and Elba, but manages to steal the show consistently from them as the film’s secret weapon. While only in one sequence, Quaid is an absolute blast as Marty Comer, the agent of the safe house that Cena and Elba’s Will and Sam check into, conjuring up the exact bonkers comedic energy a film like this thrives on, while Gugino is perfectly presidential as Vice President Elizabeth Kirk who has to take control of after Cena’s Sam is presumed dead. Considine lays it on thick as the film’s villain Viktor Gradov and perfectly understands the assignment he is handed, while Sarah Niles brings her great deadpan energy to the production that is an absolute delight as Simone Bradshaw.

Every summer, there is always one film that is bound to be the hit streaming film that should have gotten a well deserved theatrical release, and it looks like this year that honour belongs to Heads of State. Never short on exhilarating and at times brutal action sequences, director Ilya Naishuller injects the summer movie season with an exciting action comedy that soars due to the lead pairing of John Cena and Idris Elba, which is only bolstered by scene stealing turns from Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Jack Quaid that ensures the film is never short high octane, blockbuster fun. Built on the wildly entertaining and brilliant pairing of John Cena and Idris Elba, Heads of State soars as an action comedy that while it does not reinvent the genre, delivers all the hilarious moments and showstopping set pieces, creating one undeniably exciting summer blockbuster.