Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new review! For this one, I will be taking a look at an action film that hit Prime Video in April that stars Viola Davis as the President of the United States. Can’t say I need much else to make me at least somewhat curious. I’m someone who has found her to be an immensely talented screen presence and getting to see her cosplay in a Die Hard like scenario sounded fun. I can’t say my expectations were too high as nothing in the trailers seemed to indicate much more than meets the eye for a streaming intended action film like this, but I was hoping for the best. Was this able to surprise? Let’s jump right in and see what this summit had to offer!
We follow President Danielle Sutton, who is getting ready to head to South Africa in order to attend the G20 Summit of World Leaders. There she plans on presenting her plan to aid sub-Saharan farmers through digital currency, something not everyone is in agreement with. Due to embarrassing antics involving White House technology getting hacked, she ends up bringing along her two kids much to the daughter, Serena’s chagrin. After arriving at the heavily fortified venue, things seem to be going normally until the Summit gets ambushed by terrorists led by one former Australian Special Forces Corporal Rutledge who has his own agenda. Thanks to her military background and the aid of her body guard, her and a handful of others are able to escape while the rest are taken hostage. Now, she must find a way to stop Rutledge and find her family before it is too late.
Ever since Die Hard, there have been various films that have done this sort of plot (an individual must save hostages from a threat in an enclosed location) and it’s not hard to see why. It’s a simple yet narratively appealing scenario where plenty of action and intensity can be mined if handled with a good execution. Thankfully, I felt director, Patricia Riggen, was able to succeed in in accomplishing this. The set up is done efficiently enough to where we get to the action quickly than I expected, but with enough shown and explained to make one invested in the characters before things go awry. Once things get going it becomes a solid thrill ride where we see how Sutton goes about navigating the situation and I was interested in seeing how they would get out of their situation. I also appreciated how this film plays around with the formula a bit, as we have other characters who are able to escape with Sutton and we see a bit of a team dynamic form they try to work together. I even like how the rest of the family plays an active role in the proceedings instead of just being hostages like they would any other films.
There’s also some messaging regarding the amount of scrutiny that women of color in positions of authority receive compared to others who aren’t, and how that puts more pressure on every decision made by them. It’s very upfront about these themes with a yellow highlighter, but I liked how this tackled it. I do commend the writers for tackling relevant topics as the main plot literally revolves around critiquing cryptocurrency and the dangers of AI deepfakes and the way they are integrated into the plot make sense. Now, I wouldn’t say any of this is executed in a way that is exceptionally done as one can see the direction the story is headed and it is all handled in a way that is good without blowing any minds or being a top tier example of this kind of story. The script is fairly conventional and these themes are not presented in a way that is particularly mind blowing (lots of explaining them outright), but it gets the job done and it is very much an exercise in what you see is what you get without any major surprises.
Riggen is also able to make the intensity felt consistently throughout. While there isn’t any one sequence that I would say was especially a stand out, the action scenes are coherent and present some fun, brutal fisticuffs that deliver what one would want and there are some genuinely tense moments that provide some good tension as I found myself wondering how the characters would get out of the situation they are in. The editing also helps in this regard as well as the use of the environment which is often used creatively as a way for the characters to make do with what they have. Now, some of the CGI and green screen presented here can be a little wonky, but visually it looks good with some beautiful showcases of the South African scenery being well utilized.
The reason that this film is probably on anybody’s radar though is likely Viola Davis herself who has proven to be one of the greatest actresses working right now. Even in something less prestige, she is gives it her all, playing up the determination and intelligence of Sutton, while also showcasing her more intimate side in a emotionally compelling way. I like how even with her skilled military experience, she still carries immense emotional baggage that plays a role in her decision making. This makes her conflict of trying to live up to the expectations of others an interesting one. She makes for a solid lead and Davis is just able to elevate what is on the page. I mentioned before how her family is also given a lot to do which is something I really liked. Anthony Anderson is very good as her husband, Derek, and they have a nicely portrayed relationship where they both are willing to risk so much to protect the family. Marsai Martin brings some fun sass, but also knows when to be serious as Serena while Chritopher Farrar has his comedic moments as their son, Demetrius, they just aren’t given as much to do unfortunately which is a shame as I liked them when they were onscreen as well as the family dynamic. Serena at least gets more plot relevant stuff, I just wish we got to see more moments between the family as I think a scene or two more would’ve only benefitted things.
When it comes to everyone else in the cast, they all do good work. Like I mentioned, I enjoyed the fact that Sutton had more people to play off of when separated from the hostages which is something I did not expect. Ramon Rodriguez is good at conveying immense loyalty as her bodyguard, Manny, and it was nice to see what could’ve been a throwaway character given a lot more to do than expected. Same goes for Douglas Hodge as the British Prime Minister, Sabrina Impacciatore as the head of the International Money fund, Elena, and MeeWha Alana Lee as the First Lady of South Korea, Han Min-Seo who are along for the ride with Sutton. The former in particular could’ve easily just been annoying nuisance, but is given more to him as the picture unfolds. Elizabeth Marvel is also given some amusing moments as the US treasury Secretary, Joanna and it was refreshing to see Clark Gregg play an actually good vice president in this kind of story. Of course a good Die Hard riff needs a colorful baddie and Anthony Starr delivers that in spades Rutledge. Starr channels his Homelander personality into another psycho who days he wants to make the world better, but is really out for personal vengeance and gain. He chews the scenery like hell and I would be lying if it wasn’t very entertaining to watch and he makes for an intimidating threat who could go off at any second.
All in all, I had fun time with G20 as I thought it got the job done as far as what it set out to be. Nothing about the story is executed in an exceptional way, it has conventional aspects to it, some technical issues and I wish we saw more of the family dynamic. That being said, it is succeeds in its simple goals with some fun turns in the story, utilization of relevant topics, it has good intensity, the performances are good, and I liked the characters. If one likes watching films like this or is a fan of Viola Davis, then this is a solid one to put on to pass the time. It wouldn’t rank it near the top of my favorite variations on the Die Hard formula, but it is a solid one nonetheless that I ended up enjoying more than I expected to. Plus, it’s a nice excuse to see Viola Davis kick some righteous a** which is a net positive.
Rating: B
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