Tonally homeless, Heads of State was clearly intended to be a popcorn-munching throwback to 80s odd-couple action flicks.

However, it mostly comes across as though, once Cena came on board, someone, possibly him, was unwilling to let his "comic relief" character fully commit to its inherent slapstick/lovable goofballness. It's also possible that those behind the camera quickly realized he wasn't up to it and made the regrettable changes.

Whatever the reason, the result is that Heads of State never seems to know how seriously to play from moment to moment, which makes it neither a particularly funny movie nor an especially dynamic action flick. The only thing that partially holds it together is the surprising chemistry between its leads, John Cena and Idris Elba. Yet that's not enough to save this deeply flawed flick.

Heads of State provides one or two chuckles but otherwise barely rates as good enough for background noise.