What happens when the President of the United States has to fight terrorists directly? No, it’s not the plot of Harrison Ford’s 1997 classic, Air Force One, but instead the focus of Viola Davis’ new action flick G20, which just hit Amazon Prime Video, and is currently the number one movie on that streamer in the U.S.
Co-starring Antony Starr of The Boys as the unapologetic, ruthless villain Rutledge, Davis has to shoot, punch, and kick her way through various bad guys as the fictional President Danielle Sutton. Right now, this seemingly by-the-numbers action flick has a 53 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and only 54 percent from general audiences. And yet, this is the number one Prime movie of the moment, and is totally worth your time, despite the 50-50 split on everyone’s opinions.
Arguably, the best reason to watch G20 is to see Davis and Starr face off against each other, not just in a physical combat, but in a battle of wits, too. Yes, the plot of this movie is fairly generic, and, at times, very contrived. But what G20 lacks in originality, it more than makes up for in performance.
In short, if you love Starr’s brand of wickedness from The Boys, his turn as Rutledge in G20 proves he’s forever in his villain phase, and we kind of never want him to play a good guy, ever. Meanwhile, Davis, an Oscar-winner who more than proved herself badassery with the Suicide Squad movies, gets to, once again, show why she’s not only a great actor, but a very cool and physical performer, too.
The film also has a great supporting cast, including Ramón Rodríguez, Anthony Anderson, and Westworld’s always-brilliant Angela Sarafyan.
G20 may not be an Oscar-winning movie, nor even the best action movie of the year. But it’s a welcome distraction, and more than worth a little bit of Amazon and chill time.