Director: Ilya Naishuller
Starring: Idris Elba, John Cena, Priyanka Chopra, Carla Gugino, Jack Quaid, Stephen Root, Paddy Considine
Running Time: 113 minutes
Synopsis: Although they don't like each other, US President Will Derringer (John Cena) and UK Prime Minister Sam Clarke (Idris Elba) are together on-board Air Force One when the plane is attacked by agents working for fugitive arms dealer Gradov (Paddy Considine). Derringer and Clarke parachute into Belarus and make their way to a safe house in Poland, where they receive help from CIA Agent Marty Comer (Jack Quaid) and MI6 Agent Noel Bisset (Priyanka Chopra). Bisset has to escort Derringer and Clarke to Trieste, Italy, where Gradov and his accomplices are orchestrating the collapse of NATO.
What Works Well: Following on the heels of the similarly-themed but much worse G20, Heads Of State succeeds by celebrating the absurdity of its premise. The tension between the two protagonists establishes classic buddy movie dynamics: Derringer is a Schwarzenegger-type action movie star turned politician, Clarke is an idealistic social justice warrior actually believing he's in politics to help people. It takes a while for them to overcome their differences, but of course they both end up kicking butt, wielding weapons, and blowing away bad guys. The special effects are above-average, the next well-staged action set-piece is never more than 10 minutes away, and the trio of Priyanka Chopra, Jack Quaid, and Paddy Considine add memorable support.
What Does Not Work As Well: The evil mastermind is eyerollingly predictable (as the script itself acknowledges), and the hold-NATO-together imperative is never treated as anything other than superficial politicizing.
Key Quote:
Derringer: Dear, God!
Clarke: I think He's had the day off.
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