Heads of State movie review: Priyanka Chopra’s average action-comedy is like Main Hoon Na with a bigger budget

Also read – G20 movie review: Viola Davis is wasted in Hollywood’s version of a Sunny Deol potboiler; laughably loud, chaotically clumsy

John Cena and Idris Elba in a still from Heads of State.

Heads of State is written by the folks who originally conceptualised that mega-budget disaster, before it was creatively overhauled by the Russo brothers. The first thing that the new Prime Video boss did after getting the job was to cancel that train wreck of a franchise, which has also spawned two spin-offs. Chopra played a butt-kicking secret agent in that show, as she does in Heads of State. When a plane carrying the POTUS and the PM crashes in Belarus following a mid-air attack, she shows up (well after the halfway mark) to escort them to safety. For some reason, the PM insists that they don’t announce to the world that they are safe.

The movie never quite explains this contrivance properly, which leaves you with no choice but to imagine that the only reason they’re keeping their survival a secret is so that the story doesn’t end immediately. And so, the mismatched pair — the POTUS is a former movie star while the PM is a career politician — bicker and banter their way across the Baltic regions, and head towards Italy, where the NATO is supposed to convene in a couple of days. Cena, once again, is playing the comic relief, while Elba does the straight man schtick with a surprising level of commitment. Had the two stars phoned it in, Heads of State would have been even more unbearable.

For one, you can never wrap your head around why they simply can’t go live on Instagram, or Truth Social, or whatever, and tell everybody around the world that they are alive. Imagine the political and economic ramifications if this were to happen in real life. But, of course, Heads of State is a breezy Friday night watch; we aren’t supposed to ask these kinds of questions. Instead, we are supposed to watch listlessly as the trio encounters one group of enemies after another, without having a clear idea of who the real villain is.

And this works to the film’s detriment. Because there is no singular adversary for the characters to face off against, Heads of State resembles a collection of gags as opposed to a cohesive narrative. There is, however, an antagonist played by Paddy Considine, who appears so infrequently that he may as well have been called over from Citadel as well. Like that show, Heads of State has the unmistakable sheen of a streaming project shot entirely against green screens. It feels too curated, both visually and conceptually. The banter between Cena and Elba’s characters is watered down to the point of being a mocktail. You can almost imagine some comedian-for-hire typing away on set, coming up with 15 versions of the same joke without knowing which one will land.

Read more – Back in Action movie review: Cameron Diaz deserved a better comeback than this disposable Netflix action-comedy

John Cena and Idris Elba in a still from Heads of State.

Unsurprisingly, none do. For a movie set against the backdrop of politics, Heads of State doesn’t bother itself too much about commenting on the turmoil that has engulfed the entire planet. Cena’s character is supposedly Trumpian, but only as far as his experience is concerned. We learn nothing about his platforms or policies. He treats foreign diplomacy like a promotional junket; attending the G20 summit, for him, is no different from attending the San Diego Comic Con. Elba’s character is equally ill-defined. He takes his responsibilities seriously, but, in a slightly sexist turn of events, the only thing of worth we discover about his past is a romantic relationship.

We learn little about them beyond what they reveal during the ordeal. Cena’s costumes are poorly-tailored, by the way. This was random, but it had to be said. You’d never notice something like this if you were engrossed in the plot, but Heads of State practically invites you to scroll through your phone as you watch it. Why not order some groceries as well, or read that article you’ve had bookmarked for weeks? Making ‘brainless’ movies used to be an art — more care, for instance, was put into Main Hoon Na than any one of these interchangeable streaming releases — but Heads of State unfolds as if its own leader has been misplaced in the mountains.

Heads of State
Director – Ilya Naishuller
Cast – Idris Elba, John Cena, Priyanka Chopra, Jack Quaid, Paddy Considine, Sarah Niles, Carla Gugino
Rating – 2/5