Soundtrack shines but background plot is missing in action

The Advertiser

a day ago

Action comedies are a dime a dozen, and Heads of State is no exception.
The new Prime offering sees Idris Elba occupying Downing Street as the British PM of six years, while John Cena is the freshly elected, former-movie-star president of the United States.
The pair are far from chummy, with Cena's Will Derringer harbouring a grudge against Elba's Sam Clarke for having a fish and chip lunch with his opponent during the election. Derringer is all about image and being liked, while Clarke is well past those days, and is only interested in taking the job seriously and avoiding silly matters of face and reputation.
The world leaders are headed to a summit in Italy aboard Air Force One when the plane is compromised and they must leap to their safety over the forests of Belarus.
Stranded in not-so-friendly territory with the world believing they are dead, the unlikely duo have to work together to get to safety and stop whatever plot is threatening global safety.
The comedy is fairly broad in Heads of State, with easy one-liners and obvious jokes only slightly working because of the charm of the two leads.
Cena seemingly has no requirement to come out looking cool (unlike, say, his Fast and Furious co-stars Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson or Vin Diesel) and so a lot of the comedy is played off of his character's inability to function despite a background in action movies. Elba gets to be the more capable of the two, and is also handed the more understated lines to deliver with perfect Britishness.
Heads of State is directed by Ilya Naishuller, known for the violent and stylish Hardcore Henry and Nobody. This film is certainly tamer than those two, and has less of a distinct or memorable filmmaking voice.
There are, however, a couple of sequences that have some real spark about them and go a ways to stopping this film from being a dud.
Firstly, there's the whole sequence with Jack Quaid's character. Quaid is having a good year, starring in robot thriller Companion and hilarious actioner Novocaine No Pain (which is still the worst title ever, why couldn't we just have called it Novocaine like the rest of the world?), along with a resume that includes The Boys, Oppenheimer, The Hunger Games and the Scream reboot. He's popular and successful for a reason, and when his character - a CIA operative manning a safe house in Prague - is introduced to the film, it is the turbo boost Heads of State really needs to get back on track. His character is quirky and odd, and obsessed with Derringer, and the scene plays out with some of the most enjoyable action in the whole film.
It is also soundtracked by the always blood-pumping Beastie Boys classic Sabotage. The music selection makes a huge difference to the enjoyment of the film, and this continues later with Motley Crue's Kickstart My Heart getting its moment to shine.
Priyanka Chopra (Quantico) plays a supporting role as a pun-obsessed secret agent who has a romance with Clarke in her past, but the script doesn't really know what to do with her for most of the time. This brings us to our second sparky sequence, a Wes Anderson-esque montage of her character's activities off screen. It's short and sweet but a delightful addition to the film.
The background plot is extremely colour-by-numbers and forgettable, involving a weapons dealer (Paddy Considine delivering a boring performance that is more than likely the result of a thinly written character) hiring a team to help him hack into secret surveillance technology and stay one step ahead of the world's security forces at all times.
The film also stars Carla Gugino and Stephen Root.
Action comedies are a dime a dozen, and Heads of State is no exception.
The new Prime offering sees Idris Elba occupying Downing Street as the British PM of six years, while John Cena is the freshly elected, former-movie-star president of the United States.
The pair are far from chummy, with Cena's Will Derringer harbouring a grudge against Elba's Sam Clarke for having a fish and chip lunch with his opponent during the election. Derringer is all about image and being liked, while Clarke is well past those days, and is only interested in taking the job seriously and avoiding silly matters of face and reputation.
The world leaders are headed to a summit in Italy aboard Air Force One when the plane is compromised and they must leap to their safety over the forests of Belarus.
Stranded in not-so-friendly territory with the world believing they are dead, the unlikely duo have to work together to get to safety and stop whatever plot is threatening global safety.
The comedy is fairly broad in Heads of State, with easy one-liners and obvious jokes only slightly working because of the charm of the two leads.
Cena seemingly has no requirement to come out looking cool (unlike, say, his Fast and Furious co-stars Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson or Vin Diesel) and so a lot of the comedy is played off of his character's inability to function despite a background in action movies. Elba gets to be the more capable of the two, and is also handed the more understated lines to deliver with perfect Britishness.
Heads of State is directed by Ilya Naishuller, known for the violent and stylish Hardcore Henry and Nobody. This film is certainly tamer than those two, and has less of a distinct or memorable filmmaking voice.
There are, however, a couple of sequences that have some real spark about them and go a ways to stopping this film from being a dud.
Firstly, there's the whole sequence with Jack Quaid's character. Quaid is having a good year, starring in robot thriller Companion and hilarious actioner Novocaine No Pain (which is still the worst title ever, why couldn't we just have called it Novocaine like the rest of the world?), along with a resume that includes The Boys, Oppenheimer, The Hunger Games and the Scream reboot. He's popular and successful for a reason, and when his character - a CIA operative manning a safe house in Prague - is introduced to the film, it is the turbo boost Heads of State really needs to get back on track. His character is quirky and odd, and obsessed with Derringer, and the scene plays out with some of the most enjoyable action in the whole film.
It is also soundtracked by the always blood-pumping Beastie Boys classic Sabotage. The music selection makes a huge difference to the enjoyment of the film, and this continues later with Motley Crue's Kickstart My Heart getting its moment to shine.
Priyanka Chopra (Quantico) plays a supporting role as a pun-obsessed secret agent who has a romance with Clarke in her past, but the script doesn't really know what to do with her for most of the time. This brings us to our second sparky sequence, a Wes Anderson-esque montage of her character's activities off screen. It's short and sweet but a delightful addition to the film.
The background plot is extremely colour-by-numbers and forgettable, involving a weapons dealer (Paddy Considine delivering a boring performance that is more than likely the result of a thinly written character) hiring a team to help him hack into secret surveillance technology and stay one step ahead of the world's security forces at all times.
The film also stars Carla Gugino and Stephen Root.
Action comedies are a dime a dozen, and Heads of State is no exception.
The new Prime offering sees Idris Elba occupying Downing Street as the British PM of six years, while John Cena is the freshly elected, former-movie-star president of the United States.
The pair are far from chummy, with Cena's Will Derringer harbouring a grudge against Elba's Sam Clarke for having a fish and chip lunch with his opponent during the election. Derringer is all about image and being liked, while Clarke is well past those days, and is only interested in taking the job seriously and avoiding silly matters of face and reputation.
The world leaders are headed to a summit in Italy aboard Air Force One when the plane is compromised and they must leap to their safety over the forests of Belarus.
Stranded in not-so-friendly territory with the world believing they are dead, the unlikely duo have to work together to get to safety and stop whatever plot is threatening global safety.
The comedy is fairly broad in Heads of State, with easy one-liners and obvious jokes only slightly working because of the charm of the two leads.
Cena seemingly has no requirement to come out looking cool (unlike, say, his Fast and Furious co-stars Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson or Vin Diesel) and so a lot of the comedy is played off of his character's inability to function despite a background in action movies. Elba gets to be the more capable of the two, and is also handed the more understated lines to deliver with perfect Britishness.
Heads of State is directed by Ilya Naishuller, known for the violent and stylish Hardcore Henry and Nobody. This film is certainly tamer than those two, and has less of a distinct or memorable filmmaking voice.
There are, however, a couple of sequences that have some real spark about them and go a ways to stopping this film from being a dud.
Firstly, there's the whole sequence with Jack Quaid's character. Quaid is having a good year, starring in robot thriller Companion and hilarious actioner Novocaine No Pain (which is still the worst title ever, why couldn't we just have called it Novocaine like the rest of the world?), along with a resume that includes The Boys, Oppenheimer, The Hunger Games and the Scream reboot. He's popular and successful for a reason, and when his character - a CIA operative manning a safe house in Prague - is introduced to the film, it is the turbo boost Heads of State really needs to get back on track. His character is quirky and odd, and obsessed with Derringer, and the scene plays out with some of the most enjoyable action in the whole film.
It is also soundtracked by the always blood-pumping Beastie Boys classic Sabotage. The music selection makes a huge difference to the enjoyment of the film, and this continues later with Motley Crue's Kickstart My Heart getting its moment to shine.
Priyanka Chopra (Quantico) plays a supporting role as a pun-obsessed secret agent who has a romance with Clarke in her past, but the script doesn't really know what to do with her for most of the time. This brings us to our second sparky sequence, a Wes Anderson-esque montage of her character's activities off screen. It's short and sweet but a delightful addition to the film.
The background plot is extremely colour-by-numbers and forgettable, involving a weapons dealer (Paddy Considine delivering a boring performance that is more than likely the result of a thinly written character) hiring a team to help him hack into secret surveillance technology and stay one step ahead of the world's security forces at all times.
The film also stars Carla Gugino and Stephen Root.
Action comedies are a dime a dozen, and Heads of State is no exception.
The new Prime offering sees Idris Elba occupying Downing Street as the British PM of six years, while John Cena is the freshly elected, former-movie-star president of the United States.
The pair are far from chummy, with Cena's Will Derringer harbouring a grudge against Elba's Sam Clarke for having a fish and chip lunch with his opponent during the election. Derringer is all about image and being liked, while Clarke is well past those days, and is only interested in taking the job seriously and avoiding silly matters of face and reputation.
The world leaders are headed to a summit in Italy aboard Air Force One when the plane is compromised and they must leap to their safety over the forests of Belarus.
Stranded in not-so-friendly territory with the world believing they are dead, the unlikely duo have to work together to get to safety and stop whatever plot is threatening global safety.
The comedy is fairly broad in Heads of State, with easy one-liners and obvious jokes only slightly working because of the charm of the two leads.
Cena seemingly has no requirement to come out looking cool (unlike, say, his Fast and Furious co-stars Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson or Vin Diesel) and so a lot of the comedy is played off of his character's inability to function despite a background in action movies. Elba gets to be the more capable of the two, and is also handed the more understated lines to deliver with perfect Britishness.
Heads of State is directed by Ilya Naishuller, known for the violent and stylish Hardcore Henry and Nobody. This film is certainly tamer than those two, and has less of a distinct or memorable filmmaking voice.
There are, however, a couple of sequences that have some real spark about them and go a ways to stopping this film from being a dud.
Firstly, there's the whole sequence with Jack Quaid's character. Quaid is having a good year, starring in robot thriller Companion and hilarious actioner Novocaine No Pain (which is still the worst title ever, why couldn't we just have called it Novocaine like the rest of the world?), along with a resume that includes The Boys, Oppenheimer, The Hunger Games and the Scream reboot. He's popular and successful for a reason, and when his character - a CIA operative manning a safe house in Prague - is introduced to the film, it is the turbo boost Heads of State really needs to get back on track. His character is quirky and odd, and obsessed with Derringer, and the scene plays out with some of the most enjoyable action in the whole film.
It is also soundtracked by the always blood-pumping Beastie Boys classic Sabotage. The music selection makes a huge difference to the enjoyment of the film, and this continues later with Motley Crue's Kickstart My Heart getting its moment to shine.
Priyanka Chopra (Quantico) plays a supporting role as a pun-obsessed secret agent who has a romance with Clarke in her past, but the script doesn't really know what to do with her for most of the time. This brings us to our second sparky sequence, a Wes Anderson-esque montage of her character's activities off screen. It's short and sweet but a delightful addition to the film.
The background plot is extremely colour-by-numbers and forgettable, involving a weapons dealer (Paddy Considine delivering a boring performance that is more than likely the result of a thinly written character) hiring a team to help him hack into secret surveillance technology and stay one step ahead of the world's security forces at all times.
The film also stars Carla Gugino and Stephen Root.