Amazon Just Quietly Released The Most Surprising Action Comedy Of The Year

Amazon Prime Video is slowly cultivating an entirely new genre of algorithm-friendly, plot-light, and action-heavy movies that exist quietly on homescreens for viewers browsing for something fun. Usually, they’re unremarkable, playing on the same few tropes and battling-for-justice themes, maybe with a handful of MCU-style quips to keep things moving. In 2025 alone, the streamer has released The Gardener, Stolen, and G20, all action movies that came and went without much fanfare.

But in recent months, these movies have gone from “fun but missable” to “genuinely surprising.” Tom Kingsley’s improv-spy-thriller Deep Cover turned out to be one of the most intelligent thrillers of the year. The latest offering, the John Cena and Idris Elba buddy action comedy Heads of State doesn’t exactly deliver in writing, but its gorgeous action sequences and self-aware tone prove that this isn’t something to throw on — it’s a testament to the action-comedy genre.

The premise takes a while to warm up, to be fair. Cena plays Will Derringer, the smarmy but likable character who asks the question, “What if Chris Evans became president?” He’s a wholesome dad and former star of a very Marvel-esque sounding action movie franchise who is now trying to lead a country with rah-rah patriotism and phrases like “dropping warheads on foreheads.” (Somehow, the film manages to sidestep any similarities with another politician who went from entertainment figure to president.)

Meanwhile, Elba is Sam Clarke, a former British Army soldier who is now the Prime Minister of the U.K. and trying to keep his country on the straight and narrow, even if that means sitting through boring meetings. Like all good buddy action flicks, the two are about equally skilled, but clash against each other’s philosophies. So when the duo are lost in the forest thanks to a massive conspiracy run from the inside, they’re forced fight their way out, one firey set piece at a time.

Thanks to the direction of Hardcore Henry and Nobody’s Ilya Naishuller, every action sequence moves with explosive energy, often with better comedic timing than lesser movies’ banter scenes. Unfortunately, whenever Sam and Will are not on screen, they are sorely missed. The tense political scenes are often yawn-inducing, and the plot twists are so predictable that Will even comments on how that always happens in these kinds of movies.

This isn’t the fault of the supporting cast: Carla Gugino, Stephen Root, and Paddy Considine are all great, and the ever-employed Jack Quaid has a great one-scene showcase that proves why he’s the crown prince of the goofy-action landscape. But the dynamic between Sam, Will, and Priyanka Chopra Jonas’ Noel Bisset, a late but welcome addition to the team, is so refined that it’s hard to skip forward to their next daring escapade.

By the end of the 113-minute runtime, the moral of the story seems to be “why can’t we all get along,” but you don’t come to a movie like this for a nuanced discussion of foreign policy; we have to think about that enough already. You come for the surprisingly stylized cinematography and intricately choreographed combat. Thankfully, this has that in spades.

Heads of State is now streaming on Prime Video.