Torn between action and comedy, irony and emotion, and rah-rah jingoism and genuine self reflection, “Heads of state“Is a surprisingly entertaining butt. In the distance, the star -packed Main Video Romp feels like a false movie-in-one-movie-that is ironic, given how many of them it has in that driving time-but the stylings of “Hardcore Henry“And” no “director Ilya Naishuller helps to save it from the algorithmic abyss of films such as”Red message,“That feels more like star-driven pyramid schemes than works by Popcorn cinema.
Written by Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec and Harrison Query (from a story of the latter) follows the rocky special relationship between charismatic Hollywood-Action star-turned US President Will Derringer (John Cena) and issued Britain’s Prime Minister Sam Clarke (Idris Elba) in the middle of a plot to kill them aboard Air Force One and destabilize NATO in the aftermath. Oh, and Priyanka Chopra Jonas is also there, something, like MI6-agent Noel Bisset, which disappears during much of the driving time, but returns spectacularly.
It would be tough for one film So rooted in politics to avoid political confusion in service for insane acts. However, it is difficult not to wonder if it would at least have tried to take that path, given how often it travels over himself while trying to vague, preaching points on international cooperation. The essence of “Heads of State”, whose potus is a literal movie star, lies the idea that the tournament of your brain is a more desirable solution to daily misery than to pay attention to diplomacy, despite the prime minister’s best efforts. Elba’s Gruff, direct-to-point former soldier is presented as the more realistic alternative to Cena’s inexperienced, nice celebrity politician-the drum quality of his ascent despite that. But at the end of the day, in Naishuller’s cinematic reality, pistol fighters and explosions are more powerful than the pen, and Stunts replaces the script.
It sometimes plays like two very different movies in direct conflict. The opening prologue, who sees Bisset fumbled a common CIA-MI6 mission to catch Russian gunmen Viktor Gradov (Paddy Considine) before he can steal a spy satellite, swing between banal, barely functional character comedy and fluent acts with sparks of Misschief. This sets the scene for what will come, because at any time “The Suicide Squad” co -stars Elba and Cena share the screen, the movie stems to find their comic rhythms, until it is moved back to its video play -inspired action mode.
Despite his attempts at Wackadoo eccentricity, Cena rarely has enough energy to create meaningful contrast with electric bass straight man (actually Elba is often the more fun and sharper of the two), and most dialogue scenes fall flat and repetitive. But at the moment of any action that takes place, “heads of state” explodes in a rough way. It has an Inverse Marvel problem, where more simple scenes feel reduced by the committee, but the fireworks come with the permission of someone with a genuine movie eye, which results in inventive, Rube Goldberg-ian-Action sequences that remember the slick sets and payments of films by Jackie Chan (only they are in speed under speed under speed under speed under speed under speed.
In fact, these sets are where the film’s comedy is finally blooming. Chopra Jonas (and her stunt double, on whose face hers has become grafted) smoothly with a hardened physical presence, when she lungs on handlaces with furious stans and kicks. Derringer, who is only used to supporting weapons, becomes an entertaining wandering metaphor for impotence disguised by nationalist joy. And Clarke, although rusty initially gave their time away from the battle, eventually settle in the role of a comic criminal.
Apart from Gradov – which has given the film’s only real hint of pathos – the actual character dynamics are thin. Bisset and Clarke have one -time personal history that takes too much respiratory room, and several supportive players are too underdeveloped to fulfill their intended plot functions of either personal victim or red herring. But when it is time for action spectacle, “state managers” are happily discouraged (largely thanks to Ben Davis cartoon cinematic wide -angle photography). Take, for example, Jack Quaid, who has only one scene like Hawaiian shirt that carries the CIA station manager Marty Comer, but which makes a monumental impact by speeding through a SafeHouse shooting while monitoring Gradov’s villain forces using a huge CRT-Monitor rocked in the arms.
Of course, as with all the Hollywood movies of its ILK, “Heads of State” has a bizarre and flashed view of the world through a clear American lens. There are UNSAVORY THINGS THAT WEST Nations Do Which Draw the Ire Of The Enemies In The Film – Some of these have unfortunate Relevance in Light of Recent Events – But These Ugly Truths Are often often brushed aside as soon as they’re brough up truthful) notion that kick-ass Hollywood action is more alluring to the average person than a statement on geopolitics. At a time when the United States bends its power both home and abroad“Heads of State” meet with the Herculean challenge to distract the audience, while the constant gestures against the same material reality that may have to flee to begin with.
In 2025, not everyone will be able to turn off the part of the brain or conscience that keeps them glued to the news, especially since the film is sent directly to streaming, where viewers are more likely to watch it while they browse the net. And even though this asks the question of who the movie is actually for – you may think it is a conservative, isolationist, “America First” fantasy, but it goes a lot to disprove this – mixed messages about its idealistic, Kumbaya Dialogue and its evil, ultra-patriotic action images are part of its sardonic charm. When it works, “heads of state” is a hoot.
Rating: B.
“State managers” will be available to stream on Prime Video from Wednesday, July 2.
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