TL;DR – Much like the action films of the 1990s, which were a clear inspiration, G20 may hit just about every cliché in its runtime, yet it still gets to be a fun blast.

Post-Credit Scene – There are mid-credit scenes.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service that viewed this film.

G20 Review –

My background is in International Relations, and one of the many facets it explores is the strength and use of international organisations. These tend to be contextually quite dull from a Hollywood story perspective, but every now and again, my two worlds collide. Sometimes, these are pretty fascinating choices, like in The Hitman’s Bodyguard, and other times, they can be a confusing mess, like with Rumours. However, today, we are upgrading from the G7 to the G20, and calamity is afoot.  

So, to set the scene, something is very wrong in Washington DC. It is so bad that they must wake Madam President Danielle Sutton (Viola Davis) in the middle of the night. Because her daughter Serena (Marsai Martin) found a new way to get around the Secret Service and escaped the White House to go to a party. Now on her first international trip, President Sutton is on the backfoot domestically and internationally as she arrives in Cape Town, South Africa, to sell the G20 on her plan for a digital currency for farmers. The hotel was meant to be a fortress, but a fortress only protects from external threats. One surgical strike later, and the security becomes terrorists, and now twenty world leaders are hostages.     

Narratively speaking, this feels like what if Air Force One and True Lies had a baby in South Africa. In many ways this does feel like a call back to those action films of the 1990s. We get Rutledge (Antony Starr), our main villain, who pretends to be for the people but is really out for a payday. We get duplicitous secret service agents, a rebellious teenage daughter who will come to respect their parent by the end, the kid who is a tech wizard, people out of their comfort zones discovering their courage, and goons from every persuasion getting taken down in a hail of bullets. There are times when you watch the setup and instantly know where that will play out. It is not the most creative outlet, but then there is also a slight comfort to it in its familiarity.

While it is playing in that familiar playset, it also takes the time to modernise things slightly. Danielle Sutton is an Army veteran with a wealth of former experiences that are about to get put to the test, such as Independence Day. She also has a much more sobering history that makes her not only more believable but also a good counterpoint to Rutledge. On that front, while it is clear that money is the endgame, Rutledge is not without raising some good points along the way, and more than just a broken clock is right twice a day kind of way. I also liked that while the characters might be inexperienced in this situation, you never felt like they were acting stupidly, just acting from their fear or lack of knowledge.

Also, unlike a lot of films in this space, they seem to understand what the G20 is, how it works, and who would be involved. This goes a long way to grounding the film in a way that is missing in such outings like Captain America: Brave New World. But to be fair, I am not sure if the film showed the best grasp of cryptocurrency, both in how it was going to destroy and/or save the world. While you can absolutely create deepfakes using the methods they show here, not in the timeframe they use, at least not in a video that would be easily found out. You would expect the more mature journalistic organisations like the BBC to be a bit more sceptical about videos being sent out by a terrorist/hostage taker. Oh, and anyone who has ever tried to upload a video to servers like YouTube knows it takes forever.

However, while the narrative is all good and dandy, you’re mostly here for the action and characters, and here it delivers. Because they are outgunned and in a poor position, much of the opening moments are all about stealth, well, right up until the British Prime Minster (Douglas Hodge) gives you away. The best in the film probably are the elevator brawl and the kitchen dissection and all the stunt players bring their a-game here. Viola Davis is obviously the right casting choice in a film like this because she brings the gravitas and the grit that you need. Antony Starr is a fantastic villain and pulls off a perfectly serviceable Brisbane/Australian accent. Anthony Anderson, Ramón Rodríguez, and Sabrina Impacciatore are great additions, but I will say the lowkey MVP of the film might be MeeWha Alana Lee.

In the end, do we recommend G20? Look, it is not a revolutionary film by any stretch of the imagination, but I did have fun with the characters and the scenario. That, along with a solid production and a good understanding of that world, make it an interesting watch. Have you watched G20? Let us know what you thought in the comments below. If you liked G20, we would recommend to you Carry-On.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of G20
Directed by – Patricia Riggen
Screenplay by – Caitlin Parrish, Erica Weiss, Logan Miller & Noah Miller
Story by – Logan Miller & Noah Miller
Music by – Joseph Trapanese
Cinematography by – Checco Varese
Edited by – Emma E. Hickox & Doc Crotzer
Production/Distribution Companies – Amazon MGM Studios, MRC & Amazon Prime. 
Starring – Viola Davis, Anthony Anderson, Ramón Rodríguez, Marsai Martin, Antony Starr, Douglas Hodge, Elizabeth Marvel, Christopher Farrar, Sabrina Impacciatore, MeeWha Alana Lee, John Hoogenakker, Conrad Kemp, Joseph Steven Yang, Emmanuel Castis, David James, Clark Gregg, Julius Tennon, Theo Bongani Ndyalvane, Noxolo Dlamini, Ali Suliman, Angela Sarafyan, Gideon Emery, Stephen Jennings, Caitlin Mehner, Heike Brunner, Colin Moss, Jacques Theron, Antony Hyde & José Domingos
Rating  – Australia: MA15+; United States: R