Sometimes it's worth a bit of honesty – and if you're in the mood for a bit of total shlock then perhaps you'd prefer to know that from the outset. Watch the trailer for Amazon Prime Video's newest blockbuster action-comedy and you'll be under no illusions about the likely quality it's bringing to the table.
Heads of State brings together two huge stars, in the form of the inimitable Idris Elba and the always-game John Cena. They play the British Prime Minister and the US President respectively, thrown together into an explosive manhunt when their official plane is downed by a mysterious attacking force.
It looks like they'll crash-land in the middle of nowhere without their usual retinue of protectors, bodyguards and soldiers. That means they're left to their own devices to find help and get back to civilisation in time to foil the plot that's been unfolding around them this whole time.
It also means a lot of wisecracking, one-liners, slapstick and more of that sort – although whether that's what you want from this sort of movie might be up to your taste a little. At some point, they'll team up with an MI6 agent (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) who could be a bit of a straight man to bounce their jokes off.
Still, it's probably worth reiterating that the movie doesn't exactly scream out that it'll get great Rotten Tomatoes scores when critics get their hands on it. I feel as though many of the biggest and best streaming services have figured out that people want simple fun action movies to watch at home, but haven't quite nailed how to make those movies actually good.
I'm obviously prepared to be pleasantly surprised when Heads of State comes out on 2 July, but I also won't pretend to have been blown away by its trailer. I can sometimes enjoy a big action flick (and I've already got my IMAX tickets for the next Mission Impossible), but this one doesn't look too great – here's hoping it defies those expectations.
