You may have heard that the United Kingdom and the United States have a special relationship. In Heads of State, Prime Minister Sam Clarke (Idris Elba) and President Will Derringer (John Cena) share a bit more of a hostile association than typical. Derringer is a former model/action star turned world leader. He has the optimism of a man who’s succeeded at everything he’s ever tried and been beloved for it. Clarke, by contrast, wears his office like a righteous burden, a thing he must do but makes him miserable. For his trouble, he’s unpopular with his constituents.

Unfortunately, their antagonism towards one another gets uncorked during a live presser before a NATO conference. In an attempt to reassure the public that their squabble was only temporary, Derringer invites Clarke to fly to the event in Air Force One. Clarke accepts, a choice that leads to both world leaders parachuting out of the flaming aircraft moments before it crashes. Presumed dead by many and certain of a traitor—or traitors—in their respective administrations, the two attempt to suss out what happened and find their way to the conference.

Cena and Elba have good “we don’t like each other but inevitably we will” chemistry. Elba is suitably grumpy in a way that suggests wounded idealism, while Cena embodies old-school American sunniness without coming across like a bumpkin. They are playing broad archetypes, to be sure, but neither reads as cartoonish. Thus, when their quest slowly brings them closer to each other’s point of view, it works. There’s nothing unpredictable about it, but each actor plays it honest, even as wildly silly circumstances pile up.

Supporting players, therefore, have plenty of room to go bigger or smaller without feeling out of step with the action. For example, Paddy Considine plays arms dealer Viktor Gradov as a fairly serious baddie. At the same time, Jack Quaid gives CIA Agent Marty Comer a heavy dose of near-manic enthusiasm. Both fit well into Heads of State’s fabric. It’s a film that can accommodate a fairly grim massacre of a team of espionage agents led by Noel Bissett (Priyanka Chopra Jonas), an estranged colleague of Clarke’s, and a scene where Elba and Cena endure faces full of sheep teats to escape detection by possibly hostile soldiers. It isn’t quite everything to all people, but it has real “get you a movie that can do both” vibes.

The script by Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec, and Harrison Query is subtly crafty. It’s dumb, but never stupid, if you get me. It respects the audience while gleefully blowing things up or endlessly lampooning Cena’s “Hollywood action star” President. The screenplay’s secret weapon is that it feels very aware of the state of our world. It has no “real world” solution, but President Derringer’s faith in humanity animates it. As a result, what could have easily been an exercise in ugly, cash-grab cynicism turns out to be a sweet actioner about the need to help and accept help from others. Charismatic, physically fit fellas dueting on an inspirational speech cannot heal the damage to international relations over the past 6 months, of course. However, the idea that there might be a path forward if we can look for and offer a helping hand feels worth holding on to.

Ultimately, though, this is a big, loud, bullet- and bomb-strewn action film. Director Ilya Naishuller, previously of Hardcore Harry and Nobody, predictably gets that. What makes Heads of State a cut above is that he also gets that the kind of action in those two previous films isn’t exactly what this feature needs. He, aided and abetted by Cinematographer Ben Davis and a stunt team led by Milan Alavanja, gives the set pieces a flavor that fits this movie specifically. There are signs of his previous work. A gross-out fight scene, in which the two chief executives face off against a group of enthusiastic but not especially bright local toughs, recalls Nobody’s bus sequence, for example. This isn’t a work that sublimates the filmmaker’s stylistic tics. However, it modulates and tweaks them so they work in service of the story rather than overwhelming it.

Good action set pieces, solid jokes, and a gooey heart make Heads of State the kind of silly, run, fight, and explode film worth your time. It’s the right amount of clever about its dumbness to leave audiences satisfied.

Chiefs of State commands Prime Video’s bully pulpit now.

Heads of State Trailer: