Heads of State

“Heads of State” is an action comedy starring John Cena as Hollywood action star turned US President Will Derringer, Idris Elba as military turned British Prime Minister Sam Clarke, and Prianka Chopra-Jonas as British super-spy and lover of silly puns, Noel. Will is a friendly, optimistic guy who may not know much about politics or policy but brings his skills as a communicator to the White House. He has high approval ratings from American voters. And some of the movie’s best jokes are the titles and descriptions of his blockbuster movie franchise, where he is referred to as “the venom in denim.”

This does not impress Sam, whose approval ratings are sinking, and who believes, understandably, that the job requires seriousness, thorough study, and substance rather than popularity. Sam says that Will still hasn’t figured out the difference between a press conference and a junket to promote a film. “You know your lines but you’re not believable in the part,” Sam says.

This is, of course, just the right set-up for antagonists-to-BFFS on a journey, a relationship forged by common enemies. With three powerhouse performers so well cast for comedy and action, the movie is guaranteed to be entertaining, despite predictable twists. For me, the balance tipped too far into the carnage for an action comedy, with dozens and dozens of anonymous bad guys mowed down, and the comedy not as sharp as it should be. On the other hand, there are a lot of cool locations, the action scenes are exciting, Jack Quaid shows up midway though (and in a mid-credits scene) to liven things up, so all in all a pleasant streaming time-waster.

It begins with the real-life annual food fight, La Tomatina in Buñol, Spain,  with participants hurling tomatoes at each other. Noel is under cover as a television journalist covering the event, but she is really there to track down an international arms dealer named Victor Gradov (Paddy Considine). But Gradov is clever and has decoys to distract them. Things go badly. Sam’s intelligence briefing reports that they have all been killed.

Will is arriving to meet with Sam before they go to a NATO meeting with other world leaders. The aides to both men urge them to try to be cordial, but the always cheery Will bears a grudge over Sam’s support for his opponent and Sam has no respect for Will’s superficial grasp of the issues. The aides decide that Will’s giving Sam a ride to the meeting on Air Force One will be a way to show good will and solidarity.

But Gradov’s thugs have taken over the plane. It crashes and explodes and the two heads of state are assumed to be dead. They survived, thanks to the sacrifices of the Secret Service. In order to make sure they are not attacked again they have to stay off the grid and walk through Belarus.

There are various encounters along the way, with fight scenes to determine who is “gym strong” vs. “strong strong.” The highlight, as noted above, is Jack Quaid as a US operative in a safe house, whose character deserves a movie of his own.

Parents should know that this film has a lot of mayhem for a PG-13, with many characters killed, mostly but not all anonymous bad guys. There are guns, knives, martial arts, explosions, plane crashes, and chases. Characters use some strong language.

Family discussion: What were Sam’s and Will’s most valuable qualities as world leaders? How could they improve to be better?

If you like this, try: “My Fellow Americans,” with Jack Lemmon and James Garner, and this year’s “G20” with Viola Davis and the wildly deranged “Rumours” from director Guy Madden