G20 movie review: Viola Davis kicks total arse as terrorist-fighting American president

Fictional American presidents are a dynamic bunch.

Harrison Ford threw a hijacker off a plane, Bill Pullman fought off aliens in a fighter jet and Jamie Foxx got in a punch or two in White House Down.

The “American president takes down terrorists” genre is as robust as it is fanciful, and usually when you hear of another entry in the pipeline, you roll your eyes. Yeah, yeah, a politician in a suit is going to take down some jacked-up villains. Been there, done that.

But it’s a whole different story when that commander-in-chief is Viola Davis.

Think about that for a moment. Davis is a bona fide thespian with serious dramatic chops. She has the EGOT to prove it. She holds every screen and stage. Timothee Chalamet named her alongside Daniel Day-Lewis and Marlon Brando as his acting inspirations.

So, what’s she doing in a dumb popcorn action movie?

Because she kicks total arse.

She cuts a different figure, literally, so when she has her guns out – in bicep and AR-15 form – there are genuine “whoop whoop” stirrings. So much gravitas, so much emotional weight and such deadly aim.

Her president is Danielle Sutton, a former soldier who was recently elected. Off to the G20 leaders gathering in South Africa, she brings along her family – husband Derek (Anthony Anderson), daughter Serena (Marsai Martin) and son Demetrius (Christopher Farrar).

The convention of leaders has Sutton on edge. Burdened with imposter syndrome for her current status and her reputation as a war hero, she’s also suffering from, “what do I do with this surly teenager who keeps challenging me?”. If there’s one person who couldn’t care less if you were president, it’s probably your 17-year-old daughter.

She has an agenda for developing financial systems in the developing world, but it’s all background noise until the real action kicks in.

A terrorist cabal infiltrates the private security contractors, led by the volatile villain Rutledge (Antony Starr), a former Australian commando traumatised by his experiences in war. He and his henchmen hold the global leaders hostage in an attempt to crash the worldwide markets and cash in on crypto.

A reluctant action hero is still an action hero, and Sutton really steps up, escaping the initial ambush with her secret service bodyguard Manny Ruiz (Ramon Rodriguez), the UK prime minister (Douglas Hodge), the South Korean first lady (MeeWha Alana Lee) and the Italian leader (Sabrina Impacciatore).

There are hand-to-hand fisticuffs, counter-offensives, sneaking around a hotel filled with faceless bad dudes, and the inevitable moments when she has to rethink her plans when her family is in danger. Plus, the mandatory speechifying by the big bad.

All the story beats are exactly what you expect - although there is a lot of fun to be had watching black-clad figures get taken out, one by one – and the usual plot contrivances too obvious and ludicrous to take seriously.

If it was almost anyone else in this role (Gerard Butler, Joel Kinnamen or even Liam Neeson, for example), G20 would certainly be a “move along, nothing to see here”.

Davis is the dealmaker. Sure, she brings an extra dimension of emotional truth and groundedness to the character, but it’s not just that. It’s also what Sutton symbolises.

She’s a middle-aged black female action hero, a mum and a wife. She’s also an American president who’s not driven by hubris or narcissism, who has self-awareness and doubt, who understands strength is found in empathy, who is unwilling to leave others behind, and who’s trying to stop someone from destroying the global economy.

More than the gunfights and helicopter antics, that is, sadly, the most unrealistic aspect to G20.

At least right now. But it doesn’t have to be, and Davis’s performance is a reminder to hope it won’t always be.

Rating: 3/5

G20 is streaming on Prime Video