Heads Of State Review: John Cena And Idris Elba's Buddy Action-Comedy Is Giving 48 Hrs. And Lethal Weapon, And I Had A Blast

Big muscles, big egos, big laughs.

While Hollywood blockbusters are still quite capable of producing bona fide solo heroes for audiences to cheer and worry for like John Wick and [insert specially skilled Liam Neeson character name], fewer and farther between are the two-hander action romps that populated video rental shelves in the '80s and '90s. That semi-dearth of duos is largely why I'm so grateful that John Cena and Idris Elba's rip-roaring new action-comedy Heads of State exists.

Release Date: July 2, 2025
Directed By: Ilya Naishuller
Written By: Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec, Harrison Query (Story by Harrison Query)
Starring: John Cena, Idris Elba, Priyaka Chopra-Jonas, Paddy Considine, Carla Gugino, Jack Quaid, Stephen Root
Rating: PG-13 for sequences of strong violence/action, language and some smoking.
Runtime: 113 minutes

As produced by Amazon MGM — whose name is basically buddy branding in and of itself — Heads of State likely could have set Cena and Elba up with the dumbest story imaginable and their combined talents would have still made it worth watching. Thankfully, screenwriting duties were handled in part by veteran scribes Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec, whose most prominent addition to the action genre was unquestionably co-writing Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol.

Cena brings his WWE confidence as the relatively new President of the United States Will Derringer, who was a globally recognized action movie star prior to entering politics. Naturally, Will is the overly vocal and impulsive yin to the measured and clandestine yang of Elba's Sam Clarke, Britain's Prime Minister. Opposites initially don't attract as they're brought together to unveil a plot-driving plan to fellow NATO leaders, but a nagging terrorist threat forces them to see each other's strengths instead of just the faults. It's a classic set-up, and the two stars make both the clashing and vibing feel genuine throughout.

It's the third and biggest movie yet from director Ilya Naishuller, who is arguably responsible for injecting the biggest surprises and quirkiest moments that make Heads of State stand apart from the sea of overly serious political thrillers and lesser-than action-comedies that sacrifice wowzers stunts for ad-libbed one-liners.

Together, John Cena and Idris Elba are funny, charismatic and badass enough that I already want a sequel.

Idris Elba is the kind of actor who brings his A-game to every role, and he's quite polished at choosing projects that hit above a certain line of quality. Cena by and large shares that first trait, even if his body of work sits on a slightly lower echelon. Put the two together, and where one might expect to see two larger-than-life personalities fighting for screen-supremacy, and the result is instead perfectly complementary. The pairing worked in The Suicide Squad within a larger ensemble but fully thrives here.

Cena's Will Derringer is largely a caricature that mixes Donald Trump's political bravado and impulsive outbursts with former Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger's embrace of his Hollywood past. He's the kind of guy who loves to solve problems with easily digestible catchphrases, which initially puts him at odds with Elba's more stoic and contemplative Sam Clarke. Their argumentative dynamic creates a bit of a grind early on as everyone's personalities are spread out in full, but the pair's chemistry is locked in straightaway, making this way easier to watch than an actual political debate.

The two leaders are forced into teaming up aboard Air Force One after the flight gets targeted by a team of goons guided by Paddy Considine's shady mustachioed villain Viktor Gradov. Once the two heroes are free and clear of the plane crash, they're forced to go on the run to seek out a welcoming U.S. embassy, with plenty of expected and unexpected threats getting in their way. If you think it wouldn't get old watching Cena and Elba punch, kick and shoot enemies with gleeful aplomb, you'd be right.

Not that the two titular Heads provide the only star power. Priyanka Chopra-Jonas is every bit as badass as her co-stars while portraying MI6 agent Noel Bisset, whose prolonged absence during a chunk of the movie feels more like a scheduling issue than a story plus-up. The Boys and Novocaine's Jack Quaid pops in for some brazen and brutal delights, and might actually boast the most highlight reel-ready appearance of anyone.

Nobody director Ilya Naishuller gets his biggest budget yet, with lots of fun, unique, and explosive moments to show for it.

Russian filmmaker Ilya Naishuller made his mark on Hollywood and U.S. audiences with the 2015 action flick Hardcore Henry (budget: $2 million), which is infamous for being shot entirely from the first-person perspective of its main character. Next up, Naishuller turned Bob Odenkirk into a low-key action hero with 2021's Nobody (budget: $16 million), which was a big enough hit to spark a sequel (coming later this year).

With Heads of State, however, the director is working on a completely different level, and his ability to scale his talents up becomes quite evident during the first big action sequence onboard Air Force One. Actually, the moments that occur outside the plane are the best indicators of Naishuller's ability to shake up the norm. A couple of the most memorable shots in the film come from cameras that are attached to drone explosives aimed at the POTUS' plane, calling back to Hardcore Henry's P.O.V. approach.

Other stunts and shots peppered throughout the film also show off Naishuller's imaginative approach to camerawork – be on the lookout for a character who's missing his front teeth – which helps give Heads of State more personality than the majority of less playful releases. Even when explosive weapons aren't in use, Will and Sam's hand-to-hand combat scenes are somehow just as much fun and exciting to watch.

That applies fully to the main antagonist's top pair of hyper-violent enforcers, Sasha the Killer (Alexander Kuznetsov) and Olga the Killer (Katrina Durden), who seem to defy death as they continue chasing the two world leaders wherever necessary. The duo would have felt right at home in The Raid or Oldboy.

I admittedly expected more of those unique and unexpected moments throughout, and it's entirely possible that making such a big budget movie for Amazon MGM stymied some of Ilya Naishuller's wackier instincts in order to keep everything on a clear and understandable narrative path.

Despite early issues with plot and tone, Heads of State boasts a pretty flawless second half.

Had a version of Heads of State come out in the '80s alongside the comparable buddy action classics Lethal Weapon and 48 Hrs., the political exposition laid out in the first act likely wouldn't have inspired a second glance. But at a time when real-world news is affected by partisanship at every level, watching any kind of immature tête-à-tête between two global leaders – even a fictional comedic-minded one – can immedaitely become exhausting.

Beyond the politico murk, the film's opening sequences also have a lot of exposition and character introductions to get through, which is where audiences first meet Chopra-Jonas' Noel and Sarlto Copley's Agent Coop. Which leads to introductions for Will's Chief of Staff Simone (Sarah Niles), Sam's second banana Quincy (Richard Coyle) and Viktor Gradov's American quasi-henchman Arthur (Stephen Root). Let's also not forget Will's Vice President Elizabeth Kirk, though Carla Gugino makes her first appearance a bit later on.

After the stellar Air Force One sequence, however, John Cena and Idris Elba are removed from the bulk of the other main characters, and that's when things get cooking. Without anyone else yapping in their ears, Will and Sam are forced to meet in the middle and work together, which is the foundation of any great buddy action movie. The movie never loses sight of that kinship, either, throughout all the other bone-breaking brawls, bullet-hell gunfights, and twisty plot machinations.

With its surprisingly deft blend of high-stakes action and light-hearted comedy that bumps against the PG-13 rating, Heads of State is 100% the kind of guilt-free popcorn-chomping good time that Amazon MGM should be making, and is definitely worthy of a trip to the theater, as opposed to streaming at home. President John Cena's biceps deserve to be seen on the biggest screen possible... because America.