Plenty of movies put a movie President in the middle of the action. The two at the top of the heap currently are “Get off my plane!” James Marshall and President Thomas Whitmore, who gave one of the great motivational speeches in movie history before leading a counterattack against invaders. After that there’s a BIG drop off…which is why Viola Davis probably threw her hat into the ring. Danielle Sutton is right there among the contenders list of badass movie Presidents, fighting against overwhelming odds to become worthy of the office she’s been elected to, and then some!
Davis also agreed because of the terrific premise. The G20 Summit is a famous event that takes the richest countries in the world, and has them meet once a year to address the biggest issues facing the planet today. President Sutton (Viola Davis) is going this year with the Treasury Secretary Joanna Worth (Elizabeth Marvel), in hopes to solve world hunger. Sutton’s family is coming along too, dutiful husband Derek (Anthony Anderson), and kids Demetrius (Christopher Farrar) and tech genius Serena (Marsai Martin), who’s there so mom can keep tabs on her rebellious daughter. Also in attendance is Edward Rutledge (homegrown Amazon Prime Anthony Starr), who’s intent to turn this G20 summit into his own grand revenge plan to destroy the economic world order.
Viola Davis was in Fences, y’all! The Oscar winner so easily could have phoned this thing in and made G20 feel beneath her. But she doesn’t. She takes her essence and imbues it into the film. President Sutton and the movie carry themselves with dignity and determination. The movie smartly writes the President as an electee riding a great war photo-op that was a bit staged to make her a Time Magazine cover. This positions our hero as a “President” in name only, hoping they can rise to this occasion when she’s needed most. Davis can play those notes in her sleep; the bigger question is: can she pull of the action sequences? Because she’s a pro, Davis gives it her all. She’s not the most elegant, but she’s also not asked to be, and when she has to strap on a bullet proof vest and clear a room of bad guys, I wasn’t rolling my eyes at how silly she looked. She fits the part just enough to vacillate between the two Sutton personas, regal and vulnerable, necessary for G20 to work.
As for the movie itself, we smartly keep moving to prevent deep introspection into the plot mechanics, which are overly complex and ludicrous. The action sequences are as exciting as they need to be, with Sutton kicking butt, unless they need a more dynamic sequence, when bodyguard Manny Ruiz (Ramon Rodriguez) does more flashy work. Interspersed with that is the solid Sutton family subplot, which feels more like they’re in a home invasion thriller since they don’t have any combat training. Since Rutledge is our only big bad, the movie keeps Sutton and him apart until the final act, building up the heroes and villains so the showdown really means something. As such these sequences pop when it’s just Rutledge and Sutton, as Davis really gets to shine dressing down the wanna be “leader of a new world order.” The final act is a stupid CGI mess, but at least is built around character beats. The sneaky best thing G20 does is subtly remind everyone what a real hero looks like, and how they’re defined by their actions, first and foremost.
G20 is one of those perfect Friday nighters. Get some popcorn, or a pizza, have a glass of wine, and enjoy one of the great actresses of our time show she’s more badass than you think she is. And as for the movie creators, use G20 as inspiration for great premises. There’s plenty of leader meetings out there that you can take advantage of. Use them! Worst case they become a great travel inspiration.