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It’s was only about a month ago that I was saying how surprised I was that the comedy crime movie Deep Cover, that had just premiered on Amazon Prime, was good because comedy crime movies and movies premiering on Amazon Prime are so often not. Now, here I am again celebrating a similar type of film on the same streamer. I enjoy being surprised by things like this and I definitely enjoy being surprised twice. 

I do have to say that early on I was not optimistic. The opening scenes of this one are a little laboured with mediocre action, as is generally the case with this sort of thing. For examples go back and read my discussion of the aforementioned Deep Cover. Sometimes the humour lands with these movies but it is rare that there isn’t some compromise with the gun fights, the car chases and, it has to be said, the plotting. 

The set up for this, both with the mission gone wrong at the start and the pairing of the newly elected US President and the beleaguered UK Prime Minister, who are instantly at loggerheads, did initially seem a bit forced. Also, while Idris Elba is instantly relatable in the latter role, John Cena as a corny Hollywood star who quickly finds himself in The White House was totally unbelievable. 

Of course it wasn’t long until I made the connection with a certain corny reality TV star who quickly found himself in The White House (here I was also surprised twice but not in a good way) and slowly the movie started to pick up around this conceit. Fairly early on there is a big action sequence involving Air Force One that is actually genuinely impressive and then as our downed duo find themselves having to fend for themselves in Belarus, the jokes, the banter and the story beats all start to blend really well. There is a moment where Elba flicks away a cigarette that has been thrown at him with amusing consequences that is executed with such easy panache and comedy timing and at this point I knew I was having a good time. 

Idris Elba is undeniably the star of the show but Cena is good as well and the two of them bounce off one another really well, just as they did in 2021’s The Suicide Squad. Elba is actually a good example of someone who is reputed as a serious actor also being well suited to funny films, and it is rare that it goes that way round. He’s certainly more adept at comedy than Robert DeNiro or Liam Neeson who have both made a bit of a thing of it. Priyanka Chopra Jonas is similarly strong in her supporting role and this could be a springboard to a greater variety of Hollywood movies for her. There is also a delightful extended cameo from Jack Quaid. 

In the end though it is probably director Ilya Naishuller who deserves the most credit for his deft handling of the material. The story is a bit predictable (something it plays on at one point) and none of it is groundbreaking cinema (possibly why it’s not in cinemas) but it is managed well and could have been so much weaker in different hands.

This is a win for everyone involved then, from Amazon down. I was floating but Heads of State has my vote.