Heads of State Review: In this action-comedy film, the US President Will Derringer and the UK Prime Minister Sam Clarke must overcome their frosty relationship and learn to work together when a global danger threatens to kill them both. With only MI6 agent Noel Bisset to depend on, their survival depends on their getting along!
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Heads of State Movie Cast
Idris Elba, John Cena, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Carla Gugino, Jack Quaid, Stephen Root, Sarah Niles, Richard Coyle, Paddy Considine
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Heads of State 2025 Director
Ilya Naishuller
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Heads of State Prime Video Writers
Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec, Harrison Query
The film has a runtime of 113 minutes.
Heads of State Review
I don’t think any of expected Heads of State to be a deep and nuanced discussion surrounding the issues in our governments and how, while common people suffer every day, the heads of our states have pissing contests. Keeping that in mind, this Prime Video action-comedy film is exactly what you’d expect it to be after watching the trailer and is a forgettable joyride that is a perfect entertainer for the weekend with the family.
Featuring Cena and Elba as two beefy men at the head of the two most powerful nations of the world, we are meant to believe that they can just crash in and then travel through Belarus without being noticed or recognised and, you know what, considering how goofy this film is, sure I can get behind that.
The story focuses on Sam and Will making their way through several countries, fighting bad guys who somehow can’t kill them and then saving the world by stopping NATO from disbanding. Along the way, they overcome their differences and learn more about each other and these buddy moments, complete with a romantic angle between Sam and Noel, become the emotional core. The film is neither hard-hitting nor particularly memorable in those areas, and forces you to acknowledge their characters’ arcs.
The problem isn’t that we have seen far too many similar films this year; it’s that this one doesn’t do anything to stand out. Neither is it particularly funny nor endearing, and I didn’t understand the point of the romance between Sam and Noel, which felt desperate and forced. Even the antagonist is so obvious that you can’t help but roll your eyes. There are very few moments that do make you chuckle, but those, too, are few and far between.
I found the action to be fine; we simply jump from one chase sequence to another. Paddy Considine is the bad guy here, but doesn’t make an impact because his character is hardly there. Priyanka Chopra Jonas is a fierce action woman, and I liked her, but her character has hardly anything to distinguish her from the 10 other people with guns. I am not going to comment on her relationship with Elba’s Sam because there’s hardly anything to comment on.
Final Thoughts
Heads of State delivers exactly what you’d expect. I enjoyed the bickering between Cena and Elba, and that’s about it. Everything else is too clichéd to be taken seriously. Either way, if you’re looking for something silly to watch with the family this weekend, this one might be up your alley.
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