G20

So watched this right after work today and I must confess I'm utterly bamboozled as to how hell a movie with such a stacked cast stuffed with so many action sequences can be so boring??

It's obvious it's got a decent budget as the production values are there and there's a whole heap of plot ideas (mostly B rated tech thriller and tinfoil hat taking points) and mixed character motivations but somehow fails to cohere into a solid whole.

Really disappointing as I really like a lot of the cast members and none of them are phoning it in.

Trying to find another 50 chars so I'd best point out it's MGM marque but it does feel like a amazon direct to streaming effort.

G20 has some of the right elements to do its concept justice but it's undermined by its standard issue made for streaming construction and the near constant overly serious nature which prevents it from having any fun with the concept. Like most streaming originals, it borrows from far superior films and ends up being so generic that everything it's taken from them makes it feel derivative. The casting of its hero and villain saves this from being really bad.

Viola Davis is massively over qualified for this incredibly bland material which at least means she is more than capable of elevating this with her commanding screen presence and undeniable action star credentials. Anthony Starr does a good job as the main villain, relishing in his villainy and delivering several cringe worthy speeches advertising Bitcoin without completely losing the will to live in a seriously impressive feat.

Patricia Riggen's direction is pretty lifeless. The action sequences are basic and when they do add some visual flair to proceedings it feels so random, plus there's not enough of them considering the nearly 2 hour run time. It generally looks flat thanks to a colour palette that's slightly desaturated throughout which becomes kinda distracting. Some of the CGI is laughably bad but thankfully those moments are contained to small doses.

No, seriously. This movie would have been a perfect place for Frank Drebin to make an appearance. Just imagine him driving a police tank into the G20 meeting, crushing everything in his way! "G20" could have been a perfect parody, a spoof of amovie. But the tragedy... you see, the tragedy is that "G20" is not a parody. Is not a spoof. It is "action thriller film", that was made without a hint of smile. R. I. P. Mr. Leslie Nielsen, in another reality you could had a perfect cameo in this flick. R. I. P. "G20", a weird expirement born out of god-knows what. One day, hopefully, this will be remade as a comedy.

Not convincing!

"G20" sets out to be a high-stakes political thriller but ends up as a chaotic blend of clichés, flat dialogue, and a lead character powered more by plot armor than by actual depth.

The antagonists are cartoonish at best, and while Davis gives it her all, even her talent can't elevate a script that gives her nothing real to work with. Her character is less a leader navigating crisis and more a one-woman army with an overused action trope checklist.

Visually, the film is competent - slick shots, moody lighting, fast cuts - but none of it can hide the hollow core. The geopolitical backdrop feels more like window dressing than substance, with any meaningful commentary buried under explosions and melodrama.

In the end, "G20" feels like a poorly staged summit itself: loud, overhyped, and completely lacking in anything that matters.

It was sort of okay until about halfway through. It's annoying having a teenager save the day.

But the worst part was when the president, for the third time, decides she can't leave someone behind. She has to save them.

When the obvious thing is she can do more for them if she can actually get out of the situation.

Then she gets into a (second) fight with a terrorist, this time because she didn't just shoot him in the back of the head when she had the chance. These guys were killing people left and right, and she tells him to "drop the weapon" then lets him close while he's dropping it, and then I'm sure somehow she gets out of it, but at that point, I gave up.