Viola Davis isn’t the first Best Actress Oscar winner to turn into a kick-ass action hero — she was preceded by Halle Berry, Charlize Theron, Helen Mirren and Jennifer Lawrence — but Davis definitely is the first EGOT to do so.
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| Secret Service Agent Manny Ruiz (Ramón Rodríguez) helps President Danielle Sutton (Viola Davis) to safety, as South Korean First Lady Han Min-Seo (MeeWha Alana Lee) wisely follows. |
I’d also argue that, even in full-blown battle mode, Davis is the most regal of the bunch.
G20 is pure hokum, but director Patricia Riggen and editors Doc Crotzer and Emma E. Hickox keep things moving rapidly enough to camouflage a plot that has more holes than the proverbial Swiss cheese. Honestly, the four credited scripters — Logan Miller, Noah Miller, Caitlin Parrish and Erica Weiss — could have tried a little harder.
(I also get a sense — given that production on this film took place in early 2024 — that all concerned envisioned this as wishful thinking about the upcoming real-world election, and cheekily built their story around a Black female U.S. president.
(Ah, if only...)
We’re introduced to President Danielle Sutton (Davis) as she’s dragged out of bed late one night, because her headstrong teenage daughter Serena (Marsai Martin) once again evaded her Secret Service handlers to sneak out of the White House.
Thoroughly fed up — because the girl refuses to realize how such behavior places her in danger — Sutton and her husband, Derek (Anthony Anderson), decide to take Serena and her brother Demetrius (Christopher Farrar) to Cape Town, site of the annual G20 summit meeting, in order to keep her under strict surveillance.
This soon will place Serena and Demetrius in far greater danger than her midnight escapades, because...
...Summit security has been outsourced to a private outfit.
(“Stupid mistake!” we scream.)
The security has been infiltrated by mercenaries under the command of the lethal Rutledge (Antony Starr). Under threat of killing one or more summit attendees, he plans to spread false information about the meeting via deep-fake technology, thus destabilizing the world economy in order to corner the market on cryptocurrency.
Although Starr’s volatile performance is so far over the top that he may as well be sporting a Snidely Whiplash mustache, Rutledge’s unsettling scheme doesn’t feel that far-fetched, at a time when real-world deep fakes already have become a serious problem.
Rutledge wastes no time, and hijacks the event during the initial evening reception. Thanks to quick-witted thinking by Sutton’s good friend and lead Secret Service agent, Manny Ruiz (Ramón Rodríguez), they escape the ballroom, accompanied by British Prime Minister Oliver Everett (Douglas Hodge), South Korean First Lady Han Min-Seo (MeeWha Alana Lee) and Italian International Monetary Fund President Elena Romano (Sabrina Impacciatore).
They subsequently become an inseparable quintet: a smart scripting decision, thanks to their wildly disparate personalities. Sutton and Manny shared previous wartime experience, hence their courage under fire; Hodge’s Everett is a pompous horse’s ass; Lee’s stately Han Min-Seo immediately places her trust in Sutton; and Impacciatore’s often breathless Romano proves a resourcefully quick study.
It's refreshing, as events proceed, when Everett shifts from sullen smart-assery to grudging respect.
Since Rutledge and his crew have isolated the summit by cutting off all contact with the outside world, Sutton and Manny must figure out a way around that ... while keeping themselves alive.
By chance, Derek, Serena and Demetrius had left the ballroom and returned to their hotel room, shortly before the invasion. Rutledge quickly realizes that grabbing Sutton’s family members will bring her out of hiding, so the unfolding plot divides its time between an ongoing series of dangers facing both groups.
In fairness, the resulting pell-mell suspense remains somewhat reasonable ... allowing for the fact that so many of Rutledge’s mercenaries are so easily evaded or eliminated. (They’re also terrible shots, which is de rigueur for this sort of story.) Sutton never turns into a superhero, and her progress is impeded by a long-ago leg injury; Davis supplies a persuasive blend of gravitas, pluck, sensible planning and protective instincts.
Rodríguez’s Manny is the stand-out hero, his quick thinking repeatedly coming to the rescue. The actor is immediately recognized from his starring role in television’s Will Trent, and this big-screen feature is a nice showcase for his versatile acting chops.
Martin capably handles Serena’s transition from spoiled, sullen teenager to cool-headed team player. (We knew her mad hacker skills would prove useful.) Alas, poor Farrar is little more than window-dressing; Demetrius’ role is sadly under-written. Anderson is an appropriately protective Papa Bear, and Elizabeth Marvel completes the good-guy group as Sutton’s friend and colleague, Treasury Secretary Joanna Worth.
Everything builds to a rousing finale, with little in the way of surprises; the sole “big reveal” is easily anticipated.
G20 won’t be long for this world, but it’s reasonably satisfying as a Friday night guilty pleasure.
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