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Escapism can be hard, and adventure comedy Heads of State makes it more so. Take a UK prime minister and US president, and set them besides a Nato in peril, dire opinion polls in London, and loud America First voices in DC. One story point even concerns the fate of Air Force One, long a reported bugbear to the current user. The emergency exit from reality is . . . where?
Well, the two leaders are played by Idris Elba (Britain) and former wrestler John Cena (the US), as peevish rivals turned crash-bang tag team. Elba’s PM is a dour workaholic, Cena’s “popcorn president” a happy naïf fresh from Hollywood. The relationship is special only in its ping-pong bickering — until, with both men on the presidential plane, a terrorist attack demands they defend democracy with their fists, amid much manic slapstick.
The director is Russia’s Ilya Naishuller, who also made the violent sleeper hit Nobody. For all the political hall of mirrors, the real inspiration for the film might lie elsewhere. It doesn’t feel like coincidence that it is backed by Amazon, who enjoyed huge success with gay romcom Red, White and Royal Blue, another tale of UK-US bonding at high levels of power.
Naishuller spins the formula into an action bromance. The result is better than it has to be. The thrills and spills have oomph, while the stars showcase a neat line in deadpan. Like a gym-toned Laurel and Hardy, the mess they get themselves into is — broadly speaking — fine.
★★★☆☆
On Amazon Prime Video now
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