The premise of G20 is undeniably silly — and that’s exactly what makes it work. In this action-packed thriller, Viola Davis plays President Danielle Sutton, a U.S. leader who is more combat-ready than her own Secret Service team. When a G20 summit in Cape Town is hijacked by crypto-bro terrorists, President Sutton springs into action, taking down the bad guys and leading fellow world leaders to safety.
This should, by all accounts, veer into the realm of bad-stupid. But thanks to solid action sequences, sharp pacing, and the magnetic star power of Davis, G20 falls confidently on the good-stupid side — an undemanding but genuinely entertaining throwback to old-school action flicks.
Though lighter than Davis’ past roles in films like Widows or The Woman King, she attacks the material with the same intense gusto. It’s no stretch to believe Davis as both a decisive President and a tactical action hero, with the screenplay smartly establishing Sutton’s military background early on.
Try not to grin when Davis, in one of the film’s standout moments, tears off the bottom of her evening dress — better to kick the bad guys in the face. Her character’s journey through the hostage crisis is pure action spectacle, with plenty of Die Hard-lite vibes.
Among the other leaders caught in the fray are:
- Oliver Everett, the skeptical British Prime Minister (Douglas Hodge)
- Elena, the panicked Italian leader (Sabrina Impacciatore)
- Han Min-Seo, the wise South Korean First Lady (MeeWha Alana Lee)
Meanwhile, Antony Starr (best known as Homelander in The Boys) brings a familiar menace to his role as Rutledge, the crypto-obsessed villain leading the siege. Starr’s performance, though formulaic, benefits from his natural intensity.
The action, while not at the elite level of John Wick, is well-staged and coherently shot. Director Patricia Riggen makes sure viewers always know who’s where, and the fight choreography packs enough punch to satisfy Friday-night audiences.
Of course, G20 isn’t immune to common pitfalls of streaming-era action movies:
- Overly green-screened backgrounds
- Simplified dialogue geared for second-screen viewing
- A plot stitched together from topical buzzwords (AI! Bitcoin! Deepfakes!)
But for all its absurdity, G20 delivers exactly what it promises: solid, fast-paced fun featuring a machine-gun-wielding President who doesn’t hesitate to snap a mercenary’s neck when necessary.
G20 may not be a world leader in the action movie genre, but thanks to Viola Davis’ electrifying performance, it stands proudly as an entertaining and surprisingly satisfying thrill ride.
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