In her impressive career,Viola Davisknows how to tap into raw emotional intensity in her acting work. The Oscar-winning talenthas demonstrated her ability to display her strength by playing concerned mothers, authority figures, and inspirational women of power. All three types of character personalities are brought together in Amazon’s latest action hit,G20.
Davis’s role as U.S. President Danielle Sutton inG20provides something refreshing for what is aDie Hard-inspired scenario. The time-honored tale of a political leader taking a stand against terrorists has been done to great success inAir Force Oneand fell short of expectations inWhite House Down. Though it may appear silly to see Davis’s President Sutton on the poster with a machine gun, echoing a mindless action genre contemporary likeGerard Butler,her versatility and commanding presence as an actor makeG20more credible than any of the Scottish star’sOlympus Has Falleninstallments.
‘G20’ Rises Above Being Another ‘Die Hard’ Clone
G20follows Davis’ President Sutton and her family’s travel to the prestigious intergovernmental conference in South Africa to discuss aid for Saharan farmers through the use of cryptocurrency. The heavily-guarded Cape Town hotel where the summit goes under siege when renegade Australian soldier Edward Rutledge (Anthony Starr) and his team take the world leaders hostage and plan to use AI to deepfake them to influence the public into enriching him with crypto. With only her trusted Secret Service detail (Ramon Rodriguez) at her side, President Sutton has to rely on her past military skills to save the hostages, including the First Gentleman (Anthony Anderson) and her two children (Marsai MartinandChristopher Farrar).
The beats ofG20are not too far dissimilar from everyDie Hardclone in cinema history. The radio interplay between Davis and Starr shares the same cat-and-mouse dynamic as John McClane and Hans Gruber; the authorities outside the hotel are useless, and the significant other is put in jeopardy.What makes this movie different, aside from the fact that a female US president takes physical action against terror, is Davis as the unconventional choice for an action rolethat the likes ofGeena DavisandCharlize Theronthrive in. Davis’ physicality alone is a continuing extension of her no-nonsense leader status established inThe Woman King. Right from the beginning,G20establishes the president’s combat experience as shown in a sequence where she trains in martial arts outside the White House lawn. So once the chaos takes place at the summit, it becomes clear she can easily handle her own in both hand-to-hand combat and heavy-duty gunplay.
Viola Davis Holds ‘G20’ Together Despite Mixed Reviews
G20succeeds by not making the action as fantastical as theOlympustrilogy andWhite House Down. In an era whereJohn Wickset a new standard for choreographed combat sequences,G20’s action is purely grounded in street-level brawling. Among those key sequences is President Sutton battling a muscular henchman with a frying pan in the hotel kitchen while intercutting with Rodriguez’s secret serviceman fighting another in the next room while avoiding the electrified wet floor. DirectorPatricia Riggen(The 33) keeps the fight scenes at close quarters style to emphasize the brutality over fancy martial arts moves, especially during Davis’ final fight with Starr Rutledge. The film only reaches the heightened levels of Butler’s franchise when a bulletproof limousine gets blasted by a rocket launcher and two dignitaries driving the vehicle miraculously survive.
Even with Davis displaying her talents as an unconventional action star,G20doesn’t fall into the trap of just popcorn entertainment with no time for humanity. President Sutton still has real-world difficulties balancing her responsibilities to the country and being a devoted wife and mother.The best moments adding to Davis’s resonance involve her clashes with the rebellious teenage daughter Serena, played by Martin. Davis’ vulnerability doesn’t just come from saving the world leaders, but also her fears of Serena taking action on her own by evading the terrorists in another part of the hotel. The president’s concerns as a mother are on par withDie Hard’s John McClane needing to save his estranged wife simply to apologize to her.
Despite a 59% rotten rating from critics onRotten Tomatoes,G20madenumber one in worldwide streaming on Amazon. Much of its success in rising above the mixed reception is due mostly to Davis holding together a standard action formula with the legitimacy she brings as the leader of the free world. She delivers to audiences a president worth casting a ballot for.
G20is streaming on Amazon Prime Video in the US.
