G20 Review: Viola Davis Rules, But This 1990s-style Action Thriller is Forgettable Fun

Viola Davis plays a kickass action-hero Madam President in G20? Yes, please! Besides, she is always good at playing no-nonsense roles, as seen in Widows, Suicide Squad, and The Woman King. And not surprisingly, she’s the best thing in G20 with her commanding performance as President Danielle Sutton. She’s an Iraq War army veteran and also a mother of two children, including Serena (Marsai Martin) and Demetrius (Christopher Farrar), along with her highly supportive husband, Derek (Anthony Anderson), by her side.

Well, if only the rest of the G20 can live up to the same expectation as Davis’ engaging lead does. The story — credited to Caitlin Parrish, Erica Weiss, Noah Miller and Logan Miller — is a throwback to ’90s political-heavy action thriller, which instantly reminds me of Harrison Ford in Air Force One back in 1997. But to make G20 relevant for today’s generation, the story includes topical themes of AI and the danger of deepfakes technology used to trigger disinformation that creates media attention and public chaos. It sure sounds good on paper, but the execution is nothing more than a strictly run-of-the-mill action thriller.

So, the story goes like this: President Danielle Sutton and her family are flying to Cape Town, South Africa, to attend the titular conference, where the world leaders will be joining as well. Sutton is also joined by her friend and trusted Secret Service agent Manny Ruiz (Ramon Rodriguez) and U.S. Treasury Secretary Joanna Worth (Elizabeth Marvel). The conference will be a major event for Sutton to address her Together Plan to help poor farmers in Africa through digital currency in her plan to end world hunger.

Despite her noble effort, her plan comes under scrutiny among many critics, especially given Sutton’s own family problem that went viral following her rebellious underage daughter being caught on camera for drinking at a bar earlier in the movie. But overcoming the naysayers and family matters is the least of her problems when a team of terrorists led by Rutledge (Antony Starr), who plans to manipulate the world’s economy and stock market using deepfakes for personal monetary gains.

Given the movie’s single-location setting within the confines of a hotel, where the conference is held, I was expecting G20 to be a thrilling, Die Hard-style action movie with Davis’ badass President Danielle Sutton taking down the terrorists. Except that Patricia Riggen of TV’s Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan and Saint X, the director who calls the shots for the movie, is no Wolfgang Petersen or John McTiernan.

The familiar 1990s action-movie formula is there, and so are the relevant narrative updates, all wrapped together in a preposterous, sit-back-and-enjoy-the-show cinematic package. Too bad the movie lacks the much-needed propulsive flair to turn G20 into an edge-of-your-seat action thriller. The movie does take a while to get down to business, and when it finally arrives, beginning with Sutton bravely jumping down from the elevator shaft and taking down some of the bad guys, the action set pieces are competently staged, but nothing memorable.

I also notice the pacing can be erratic at times, and frankly, it would take a large chunk of the movie before we get to see Davis going full tactical, all bulletproof vest and armed with an assault rifle. Although Davis steals the show here, she also pairs well with Rodriguez, who delivers solid support as the loyal Manny Ruiz. Antony Starr, best known for his role as Homelander in TV’s The Boys, is having a field day chewing up the scenery playing a remorseless antagonist, Rutledge. G20 is pretty much forgettable stuff with subpar special effects, which rightfully belongs in a streaming service.

G20 is currently streaming on Prime Video.