When the Potus meets the Prime Minister… – In the film “Heads of State” the action is super fresh

Whose face do more people know? "You're not even one of the most famous Brits!" US President Will Derringer lashes out at Prime Minister Sam Clarke. The American hasn't liked Tommy ever since he invited his rival to fish and chips before the US election. And the Brit, who fought his way up from the bottom, can't stand the former wrestler and former action actor, someone who has spent his entire professional life pretending.

In the film "Heads of State," things get serious for both of them, as they must save the world together. And when they cross the heavily guarded Belarusian border into Poland in an open cattle truck, and the teats of a sheep rub against Derringer's mouth, the fact that he has the most famous male face in the world (after Brad Pitt) seems more like a potentially fatal handicap.

Russian-born director Ilya Naishuller ("Nobody") really shines when he casts Idris Elba (Clarke) and John Cena (Derringer) as cinema's newest rebellious duo. The opening scene of the action comedy is already superb (if you overlook the food waste): Clarke's ex, MI6 agent Noel Bisset (Priyanka Chopra Jonas), and her team plan to arrest Russian arms dealer Viktor Gradov ("House of The Dragon" star Paddy Considine) during the Tomatina, the annual street fight involving 150 tons of overripe tomatoes in Buñol, Spain.

Things go wrong, blue beans join the red vegetables, Gradow escapes and subsequently, with his gang of Destructivos, becomes the nemesis of Clarke, Derringer and perhaps even the entire world.

He crashes Air Force One, carrying the two heads of state to the NATO summit in Trieste, and hacks into the Echelon satellite network to publish secret files showing that NATO member states have been working against each other and harming each other. While the men, presumed dead, move from safe house to shootout to shootout in the safe house in Trieste, never tiring of expressing their antipathy toward one another. US cliché versus UK cliché.

What makes the film so refreshing is the way the eye is constantly bombarded with extraordinary elements. From the defensive battle on Air Force One to the completely overused shootouts and fistfights (the latter, for example, against the techno-savvy rural youth of Belarus), the action here affects both the eye and the mind as if it were the first action film ever.

And when Noel is asked to explain how she managed to survive the death-tomb, her ten-second mental flashback even includes a Bavarian Schuhplattler before she declines, saying, "That's too long a story."

The almost two-hour fury is closer to a cartoon than a drama, and when the extras realize that their personal song of death is being played, they finally shrug their shoulders and accept their fate like the coyote Karl when he once again goes over the edge of the cliff in his race after the Road Runner (except that Karl then crawls back out of the Karl-shaped hole in the ground).

Nasty slip-up: Noel Bisset's (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) attempt to steal an arms dealer during a major tomato fight in Spain backfires. Scene from the movie "Heads of State."

Source: Bruno Calvo/Prime

Of course, behind the big villain lurks an even bigger villain, and if you have the right friends, you don't need enemies, etc. The story is off-the-shelf, merely a vehicle for highly entertaining entertainment that would have worked well in the cinema. Film fans have known since the romantic drama "Love Actually" (2003) that there are friction points between the Prime Minister and the POTUS. However, Cena's derringer isn't quite as irritating as the US President played by Billy Bob Thornton.

And even though he complains at every turn, puts ketchup before vinegar and constantly brags about his successes with the “Water Cobra” film series, his “America first” is a likeable one, his boasting is a facade, and he is far removed from the emotional poisoning of the real incumbent.

This Derringer is firmly committed to democracy, he likes people, he values ​​loyalty and cooperation, considers NATO indispensable, and ultimately even admits to weaknesses – all things Trump wouldn't dream of. "I believe in better times," he says. Bruce Springsteen would probably even give him a ride on his Harley-Davidson.

And Idris Elba is such a rock as Clarke that, at 52, you'd still think he could direct a Bond trilogy. A pragmatic rock that his DC counterpart can lean on unnoticed, and who coolly counters the President (Derringer: "I've jumped out of a moving train before!" Clarke: "That was your stuntman") or, when he's harpooned by Gradow, resorts to Boomer puns, the kind real Boomers know from Boomer series like "The Two" (1971) – and the irritated Generation Z knows from their grandparents: "Good things come with arrows!"

Of course, they become friends. It's a buddy movie, after all. When everything's fine and the world is safe, they even eat fish and chips at the pub. You'd love to step into their world.

"Heads of State," film, 117 minutes, directed by Ilya Naishuller, written by Harrison Query, Josh Appelbaum, and André Nemec, starring John Cena, Idris Elba, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Carla Gugino, Paddy Considine, Jack Quaid, and Stephen Root (streamable on Amazon Prime Video)