Let me start by saying: yes, I am thrilled to see a Black British Prime Minister played by Idris Elba. Representation matters, and in Heads of State, now streaming on Prime Video, that casting choice feels like a breath of fresh air in a genre that rarely strays from the usual suspects.
But then you cast John Cena as the President of the United States – a former action star now leading the free world – and suddenly, it all feels… less like satire and more like a documentary from the wrong timeline. Or maybe not the wrong one, considering we’re currently living through Trump’s second term, complete with real-life deportation camps and a government that often feels like a B-roll clip from Veep. Am I weirded out by Cena playing POTUS? Absolutely. But I’m more disturbed by how not weird it feels. Welcome to dystopia with punchlines.
Action First, Comedy… Eventually?
Heads of State opens with MI6 and CIA operatives chasing a Russian arms dealer during the La Tomatina festival in Spain – so yes, this movie literally starts with spies and tomatoes. It only escalates from there: an Air Force One takedown, Belarusian farmers, hacked surveillance systems, and a NATO summit that somehow hinges on two frenemies turned globe-trotting fugitives.
The concept? Kind of genius. The execution? A bit too Fast & Furious meets Naked Gun meets NATO fan fiction. I was expecting something closer to a buddy comedy with geopolitical spice – not a high-octane action flick that drops one-liners in between helicopter crashes and explosions in Croatia.
Don’t get me wrong – there are laughs. Cena does what Cena does: over-the-top macho goofiness with bursts of surprising sincerity. Elba delivers deadpan reactions like the true dramatic heavyweight he is. And Priyanka Chopra Jonas as MI6 agent Noel Bisset? Total badass. But I wanted the film to lean more into its absurdity and less into predictable action beats. You don’t call a movie Heads of State and then give us a script that mostly feels like it could’ve been titled Presidents With Guns.
This Would Be Funny If It Wasn’t… Real
Maybe the problem isn’t the film. Maybe it’s us. Watching a former film star bumble through global diplomacy feels less like parody when you consider we’ve had a game show host in the White House twice – and Hollywood can’t compete with the absurdity of the real-world politics. When Cena’s President Derringer is lectured about NATO strategy, I found myself wondering: “Is this what Ronald Reagan felt like during briefings?” Because that would explain a lot.
And that’s where Heads of State loses its punch. The joke lands, but it lands in the middle of real fear. It’s hard to laugh when the fictional betrayals and propaganda hacks in the film echo actual threats. Watching the leaders of the UK and US navigate coups, surveillance leaks, and rogue assassins might be entertaining – if it didn’t feel like a press conference away from becoming reality.
Heads of State is a chaotic romp with explosions, betrayals, and a suspicious amount of grenade-related accidents. It’s fun enough, well-cast, and shot with the slickness we expect from Prime Video blockbusters. But if you’re looking for comedic relief from the state of the world, be warned: this one doesn’t offer escape – it offers an unflattering reflection of our current geopolitical state.
Spoiler Alert: That post-credits scene? Turns out surviving a headshot is no big deal when you’ve got a metal plate in your skull. If that’s the new standard, public officials might want to add ballistic upgrades to their benefits package.
