Heads of State, co-starring apna Priyanka Chopra, is a silly buddy comedy where you have a lot to laugh and cringe at, notes Mayur Sanap.
Heads of State begins with a mission gone awry.
The opening frame has our very own Priyanka Chopra Jonas looking pensive as she leads a covert operation in Spain.
She is MI6 agent Noel Bisset, a character that feels like a cross between her characters in Quantico and Citadel.
Everything that could go wrong goes wrong, but at least Priyanka gets a solid set piece in a film that's essentially about two guys.
Heads of State, with its globe-trotting plot and heavy-handed theme of geopolitics, is a low-stakes, silly buddy comedy where you have a lot to laugh and cringe at.
The plot revolves around two contrasting personalities, who are forced to work as a team after they are faced with a series of misadventures.
John Cena is Will Derringer, a Hollywood action superstar-turned-president of the United States, who still enjoys some fan frenzy for his influencer-coded public persona.
Idris Elba is Sam Clarke, an uptight former commando-turned-British prime minister, who thinks that Derringer is woefully incompetent at his job.
The two are often at loggerheads with their political potshots and snarky remarks at each other.
The real conflict emerges when both of them become targets of assassins in a politically-motivated hit job.
They survive sabotage attempt, but more dangers await as they dodge terrorists, explosions and gunfires. Priyanka's special operative Noel comes to their rescue.
The plot is ridiculous, and Heads of State is mercifully aware of that.
The film excels as an undemanding watch that keeps you interested with its action-packed plot and a genuine likeability of Cena and Elba who have fun playing against their tough guy images.
Their banter is established with abundant wordplay and buffoonery at regular intervals and it has the same type of comedic snap that made Director Ilya Naishuller's Nobody such an underappreciated film.
Both Cena and Elba work in tandem and make this dynamic work with a great deal of wit and energy.
Priyanka breaks into the boy's club with effortless ease and owns every scene she is in. Be it her snappy dialogue delivery or sleek action moves -- when she says she got it, you don't doubt it. Except for the forced emotional complexity that comes with a romantic sub-plot between her and Elba's character.
The chemistry between them is non-existent and this track bogs down an already clichéd plot.
But the fun quotient makes you look past the flaws.
With its non-fussy, under two-hours runtime, Heads of State is passable enough fare for a laidback, popcorn-munching entertainment that ensures you will have a nice time watching it.
Heads of State streams on Amazon Prime Video.
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