Four decades later and the influence of Die Hard remains unimpeachable, so much so that its stature in action cinema serves as a functional shorthand to describe any feature whose plot is even remotely similar. Speed, for instance, was known for a time as “Die Hard on a bus”; Under Siege was quipped to be “Die Hard on a boat”; and though one hasn’t necessarily heard the comparison made, Gerard Butler’s Has Fallen series, which kicked off with Olympus Has Fallen, could effectively be summed up as “Die Hard in the White House,” pitting a resilient protagonist against a gaggle of baddies to save both the day and the leader of the free world. And now, here in 2025, there’s G20, which plays around in a similar sandbox, except this time it’s the Commander-in-Chief themself who must rise up and save the day — an uncommon but not totally unheard of scenario in cinema, as was most notably depicted in Air Force One, aka “Die Hard on a plane.” Assuming the role of Head of State in G20 is star Viola Davis, a commanding performer who is no stranger to playing powerful women, and so there’s certainly promise to the premise, as the prospect of seeing an Oscar-winner go full John McClane holds magnificent potential. It’s unfortunate, then, that G20 is ultimately a feeble motion picture, delivering little in the way of thrills as it’s instead content to recycle familiar action beats from far superior films — at least, that is, when the screenplay (credited to four writers) isn’t busy embarrassing itself trying to remain relevant with regard to real-world horrors.
Davis plays U.S. President Danielle Sutton, a steadfast leader with a military background and a no-nonsense demeanor, keeping a cool head while juggling politics and family life. Despite the support of loving First Gentleman Derek (Anthony Anderson) and model son Demetrius (Christopher Farrar), Sutton must contend with rebellious teenage daughter Serena (Marsai Martin), whose proclivity for sneaking out of the White House and generating tabloid fodder draws the ire of her mother. Meanwhile, former Australian Special Forces Corporal Rutledge (Antony Starr, The Boys) has just pulled off a successful heist with his team of mercenaries in Budapest, securing a crypto wallet loaded with tens of millions in bitcoin. Both parties are headed to the Grand Diamont Hotel in Cape Town, South Africa, to attend the Group of 20 summit, where Sutton and 19 other world leaders intend to discuss providing financial aid to farmers through the use of cryptocurrency. Posing as the security team, Rutledge and his crew crash the party, taking the majority of the summit members hostage, including Treasury Secretary Joanna Worth (Elizabeth Marvel), while Sutton manages to break free alongside Secret Service agent Manny Ruiz (Ramón Rodríguez), stuffy UK Prime Minister Oliver Everett (Douglas Hodge), and South Korean First Lady Han Min-Seo (MeeWha Alana Lee), all while U.S. Vice President Harold Mosely (Clark Gregg) monitors the situation from outside the fortified hotel. As Rutledge carries out his insidious plan to make a fortune in Bitcoin via deepfake technology, it’s up to Sutton’s group to stop the madman and save the hostages.
But times are tough for the Madame President, who finds herself dealing with Serena’s frequent insubordination on the eve of the G20 summit. Sutton is more concerned with earning her daughter’s respect than upholding her diplomatic duty, hoping to make a positive impression on the defiant teen, and that’s even before the explosions and gunplay disrupt the proceedings at the hotel. More curious is Rutledge’s plot, finding the ex-soldier hellbent on manufacturing deepfake footage of the world leaders he seizes at the summit, leaking doctored footage of said leaders delivering speeches to urge the citizens of their respective nations to invest heavily in Bitcoin, thus turning Rutledge’s millions into billions. Sutton is the final piece of Rutledge’s puzzle, as an endorsement from the U.S. President will certainly have the power to leave the American economy in shambles. All of which is to say, G20 jumps at every opportunity to comment on The Now, prominently folding highly controversial and debated topics such as crypto and AI into its narrative. And perhaps most damning of all is the timing of the film’s release, as plenty will be inclined to compare Davis’ protagonist to recent Democratic Presidential candidate Kamala Harris, who suffered a crushing defeat to Donald Trump last November. As directed by Patricia Riggen (Under the Same Moon, The 33), G20 feels like it wants to usher in the era of Badass Girlboss President, but Harris’ loss unintentionally positions the film in a space of limp wish fulfilment, encouraging a lament at what could have been, as America’s current president falls squarely on the side of the toxic crypto bros.
Of course, one likely isn’t going to tune into G20 to see how well it’s tapping into the zeitgeist, but more to see Davis fire a big gun at scores of enemies. But even in that regard, the film sorely underdelivers, as Riggen seems too timid to truly unleash any fury, even while flying the flag of an R-rating. As a president with combat experience, Davis certainly looks the part, rocking her impressive biceps in a red dress and sneakers as she goes toe-to-toe with wave after wave of bearded meathead, but none of the action has any staying power, instead just dishing out bullets, punches, and explosions that feel oddly weightless. Even a detour to “The Beast,” the President’s armored convoy loaded to the brim with weaponry, is tossed off nearly as quickly as it arrives. Quips are also eye-rollingly uninspired, with one particularly egregious example belonging to Demetrius, who cheerfully declares “You’re from Wakanda!” after witnessing his security detail take down a thug. G20 is ultimately too derivative and restrained to recommend brain-dead action viewing, and it certainly has no business being mentioned in the same sentence as Die Hard.
DIRECTOR: Patricia Riggen; CAST: Viola Davis, Clark Gregg, John Hoogenakker, MeeWha Alana Lee; DISTRIBUTOR: Amazon MGM Studios; STREAMING: April 10; RUNTIME: 1 hr. 48 min.
Comments are closed.