REVIEW: ‘Heads Of State’ Continues Prime Video’s Action-Comedy Romps

B-Action movies have been one of my favorite ways to decompress after a long week, and Prime Video is continuing that with Heads Of State. Is it making any top of lists? Probably not. But this Ilya Naishuller-directed popcorn film is a fun, weird trip worth taking. 

Heads Of State (2025) is directed by Naishuller and written by Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec, and Harrison Query. In this action-comedy, the UK Prime Minister, Sam Clarke (Idris Elba), and U.S. President Will Derringer (John Cena) have a not-so-friendly and very public rivalry that jeopardizes their countries’ “special relationship.”

One is trying to be a diplomat, and the other is a celebrity-turned-president who just really cares about how everyone else views him, oh, and making promises he can’t keep. It’s an oh-so-familiar dynamic that cuts away the hellscape we currently live in the US and makes it a comedy instead. And let’s be honest, just laughing at an alternate timeline where all we had to worry about was a president making a movie cameo is a salve for at least the film’s runtime.

But the film’s comedy takes an action turn when the duo becomes the target of a powerful and ruthless foreign adversary, who proves more than a match for the two leaders’ security forces. One or two assassination attempts later, and the two are closer than they ever thought they would be, mainly because of their mounting frustrations. 

Heads Of State continues Prime Video’s action-comedy streak. 

After a cold open that showed Priyanka Chopra Jonas and her joint unit of CIA and MI6 agents being gunned down by their target, Heads Of State leans heavily into the comedy. All of which is pushed to great heights by John Cena and Idris Elba’s comedic chemistry. But then, the duo is forced to rely on the only two people they can trust: each other. As they survive a plane crash, make it to civilization, and try to outwit the people in their inner circle, who seem to have put their lives in jeopardy. 

Ultimately allied with the brilliant MI6 agent Noel Bisset (Priyanka Chopra Jonas), they must go on the run and find a way to work together long enough to thwart a global conspiracy that threatens the entire free world. The film also stars Paddy Considine, Stephen Root, Carla Gugino, Jack Quaid, and Sarah Niles, and is directed by Ilya Naishuller—all of those who make up an extended cast that makes Heads of State a good time. 

Heads Of State does offer fantastic action, which is surprising given both Elba and Cena’s action careers. However, as the film progresses, the situation deepens, and the two characters prove more than capable of holding their own, with the action set pieces eventually dominating the production. While a lot of the third act CGI work leaves something to be desired, and the twists happen one (maybe two) too many times, the overall film mostly goes off without a hitch. 

This isn’t the best action I’ve seen this year, but Jack Quaid remains fantastic.

The concept doesn’t ever diverge from what it sells in the synopsis. Ultimately, Heads Of State is a buddy-comedy that delivers because both John Cena and Idris Elba are consistently the best thing in even the worst entries in their filmographies. Acting against each other, their playful relationship moves from hostile to good-natured humor, all of which works exceptionally well. 

Still, the standout moment of Heads of State includes newly defined action star Jack Quaid (thanks to Novocaine), who is playing President Derringer’s agent, fights through a room full of people, gets injured, and keeps going. It’s a sequence that keeps on pushing Quaid as an action guy, and you know what? Yeah, I’m here for it. That sequence is the single best action set and fight in the film. 

This doesn’t mean that Elba and Cena don’t bring their A-game for Heads of State; they do. But the movie often finds itself relying on gimmicks over substantive action. It’s a choice that can work to drive humor toward the beginning of the action. Still, as it goes on, it can saddle what would be great sequences with a romp quality that doesn’t necessarily understand the joke that it’s making at all times, versus films like The Working Man, which are always in on the joke.

Heads Of State swings wide, but it’s only kept coherent because of Idris Elba and John Cena.

The weakest part of Heads of State is how wide the filmmaking team swings with their storytelling. Every subsequent act and twist grows the movie’s nefarious plot wider, so much so that it becomes unwieldy to say the least. At times, it’s confusing and frustrating with how wide the spiderweb of conspiracy spreads, only to be messy beyond belief.

The film does overstay its welcome by one twist and goes too far by another. It’s a frustration with the film’s kitchen-sink script that just can’t be avoided. Still, its leads do the absolute most that they can, even if the rest in the cast don’t always rise to meet them. However, Quaid and Gugino do well. 

Heads Of State leans into the kinds of films that Prime Video has been investing in, with films like Deep Cover. It’s a B-action romp that puts comedy first and honestly showcases the reemergence of straight-to-DVD action in a fun and playful way. And I mean that in a very complimentary way. 

Ultimately, Heads of State is something to watch with a big bowl of popcorn. The film isn’t perfect, but Idris Elba and John Cena are a duo I want to see together again. They fight well together, they rib each other even better, and their timing is perfectly matched. 

Heads of State (2025) is streaming exclusively on Prime Video.