- Release year: 2025
- Director: Patricia Riggen.
- Producers: Viola Davis, Andrew Lazar, and Julius Tennon.
- Screenplay by: Caitlin Parrish, Erica Weiss, Logan Miller, and Noah Miller.
- Cinematography by: Checo Varese.
- Music by: Joseph Trapanese.
Synopsis: a terrorist takes the G20 hostage to get rich. The madam President of the United States and her family will try to jeopardise his plan.
Shotgun Commentary: this is so bad it’s… no, it’s just bad. Don’t let the cast fool you.
Review
G20, quality is aside, is quite similar to Die Hard (1988). Both films feature a very capable and prepared terrorist that crashes a party with political speeches while hiding his true intention: getting rich. And both films feature a reluctant hero moved by the desire to save a loved one. The only key difference is that the 80s film had a hero thinking with his head, and this latest version has one thinking with her bleeding heart despite all logic.
The good, the bad, the boring
The film follows madame President of the United States Danielle Sutton (Viola Davis). A woman who apparently got to the White House thanks to a well-timed picture that ended up in the Times magazine rather than an ideology or, god forbid, a programme. Had this film been done ten years ago, this would have seemed a bit of a stretch.
Luckily for this movie and not so much for the rest of the world, we have since learnt that it doesn’t really take that much to get to be President of the United States. In fact, she hasn’t even been convicted of anything, so it could be argued that even Sutton is a way better choice than the current president.
Opposite Sutton, you have Rutledge (Anthony Starr), an ex-something-military from Australia who would rather see the global economy crumble than go to therapy. You guessed it, he could’ve also been the President of the United States, but alas, he opts for a more creative way to make his problems everyone’s problem. Armed with the knowledge he acquired during his service, he crashes a G20 reunion and holds everyone hostage to get rich.
A message… sort of
Now, the fun part about this is the incisive commentary on misinformation and the general ignorance of the mainstream audience. The film doesn’t get into much detail because you are there to see Viola Davis kick ass. Still, it is clear that only her and a very select bunch of people actually understand what Sutton’s plan for the economy is.
Faithfully to reality, the big majority that doesn’t want to be bothered understanding it, decide to oppose it with ridiculous claims that sound good but have nothing to do with what is going on. Rutledge preys on this ignorance and feeds it with deep fakes and passionate speeches that mean absolutely nothing, leading to a very serious market crisis that somehow gets solved on its own at the end.
Old and new
If you are thinking about watching this film in hopes to see Anthony Starr in a non-psychopathic role, you will not have such luck. Anyone who’s watched The Boys (2019 – present) will see a bearded Homelander, throwing the exact same tantrums and engaging in the usual void-eyed staring. Minus the deadly superpowers. Starr goes back to his original accent on this one, which is quite refreshing, but don’t expect to see much range.
As for Viola Davis, this is not her first role as kick-ass lead. A few years ago, you may or may not have seen her in The Woman King (2022). Still, this is not her usual role. She tends to embody more dramatic characters who shine with their words rather than their physical prowess. As such, it feels refreshing to see her in the role of action hero taking down a bunch of terrorists.
Pointless martyrdom
The only unsavoury aspect of this character is her lack of ability to think strategically, or even logically, when it comes to the bad guys. Many American films have this type of issue. Empathy is combined with stupidity in this and other films like Saving Private Ryan (1998) during the scenes where the writers try to prove that the protagonist is better than the enemy because they let them live.
Empathy has no place in a kill-or-be-killed situation. If you don’t kill your enemy, you can’t be surprised when they try to kill you. As a person who always supports dialogue before violence, this critic still rages every time a villain is inexplicably spared only to very obviously strike back and hurt or kill one of the good guys. That is not a good lesson on empathy and it doesn’t make you better than the enemy. It makes you more stupid and puts your team in danger, therefore more useless. There, it needed to be said and now it has.
All in all, G20 is a good time if you don’t expect any quality whatsoever from its story. The acting is great, and the cast is inexplicably awesome, but the narrative does not match its level at all. Zero expectations is the best way to dive into this.
Advice to take from this movie:
- Sabrina Impacciatore lights up any production, regardless of how formulaic it is.
- Empathy is great, but survival is usually better.
- Never trust a good loser.
What’s your take? Have you watched G20? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀