Heads of State
Review: The newest direct to streaming drop on Prime is an action comedy starring John Cena & Idris Elba as the President of the US & Prime Minister of the UK, respectively. First, let me be clear, that I love John Cena and that’s important to note. I get skewed when it comes to his films because I always like them a little more than I probably should as he is just one of my all-time favorite celebrities. That being said, I was happily surprised by this movie. I thought Cena was very solid & brought some good humor to his performance. Idris Elba is of course a great actor, so no problems there. The film features supporting ensemble roles from Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Paddy Considine, Stephen Root, Sarah Niles, & Carla Gugino, plus a welcome supporting role from Jack Quaid that I was not expecting and made me literally say ‘Hey! That’s Jack Quaid!’ The funniest part of the movie is that Cena’s President is actually a former action movie star with no political background. That’s such a silly joke to have a President with no relevant experience or anything. Haha good thing it’s just a joke. Right? Right? Well, at least Cena’s character is a lovable oaf. Opposed to just an oaf.
High: Cena & Elba had some really great chemistry. I was about to say that was surprising, then it occurred to me literally as I’m typing this that the two starred together in ‘The Suicide Squad’ as another set of characters initially at odds. Hm. But they really do play off of each other really well here, landing jokes at the right time, & I would point to their dynamic as the main selling point of the film.
Low: I mean the plot of the film is nothing to marvel at. These two buff, handsome world leaders meet up and have some tension. Hijinks ensues. Bad guys do bad stuff. The two work together, overcome their differences, and save the world. I suppose that should’ve had a spoiler warning, but I fear it was pretty obvious what route the film is going to take.
Rating: 7/10
Rec: If you watched this and haven’t watched Prime’s other 2025 action comedy, ‘Deep Cover,’ I’d certainly do so. Or you can visit one of the many other President action movies like 2025’s ‘G20’ (Prime), ‘White House Down’ (Netflix), ‘Olympus Has Fallen’ (Hulu premium), ‘Independence Day’ (Hulu) or ‘Air Force One’ (Pluto TV).
