G20 – Movie Review | Prime Video (3/5)

G20 on Prime Video is a new Action Thriller starring Viola Davis as the President of the United States. That alone is enough reason for me to check it out. Fortunately, it was also a very entertaining movie that feels eerily relevant. Read our full G20 movie review here!

G20 is a new Prime Video movie starring Oscar winner Viola Davis and Prime Video’s own The Boys star Antony Starr. She is the President of the United States, while he is a former Australian soldier who wants to set things “right”. Of course, he goes about it in an extreme way.

This movie offers everything a solid action thriller should. Brilliant action scenes, the classic (even stereotypical) one-liners, and the constant feeling that somehow it will all work out in the end. The runtime is 1 hour and 48 minutes, which is on the long side but not by much.

Continue reading our G20 movie review below. Find it on Prime Video from April 10, 2025.

A more intelligent plot than usual

With G20, we’re getting a movie that takes place during a G20 summit. For this particular summit, the U.S. President Danielle Sutton (Academy Award winner Viola Davis) has a very specific goal: She wants the world to come together to help end world hunger.

Sure, I’m oversimplifying, but such is the nature of many action movies. However, for G20 it isn’t quite as simple as you might think. We’re dealing with terrorists who use deep fakes and seem to have people on the inside everywhere.

It’s much more intelligent than I expected.

Of course, anyone who has watched The Boys will know that Antony Starr is a brilliant villain. This movie is no exception, and he’s saying exactly what many others have been saying for years. Decades even.

Who can you trust?

Right and wrong or good and bad isn’t what you might think. For one, the U.S. President in G20 is still the hero trying to keep the world safe. Always thinking of the greater good and the future of everyone.

Viola Davis’ character (along with those she can trust) represents the good guys, while the terrorists are funded and backed by those who want more for themselves.

Now more than ever, when everyone’s allegiance is being questioned after decades of faithful service as allies, this feels like a dream. There’s no doubt that the relevance of this particular movie has skyrocketed with the recent events and current tariff trade wars.

The tagline of G20 is “20 Nations. 19 Captives. 1 Hope.” Of course, the one hope is President Sutton. Wonderfully embodied by Viola Davis, it’s very “This is what could have been”-coded.

Watch G20 on Prime Video

The director of G20 is Patricia Riggen, who previously directed the movie The 33 (2015) based on a real-life event. More recently, she directed episodes of critically acclaimed TV series such as Jack Ryan, Dopesick, Alaska Daily, and Saint X.

The screenplay comes from writers Caitlin Parrish & Erica Weiss (co-creators of The Red Line) and Logan Miller & Noah Miller (White Boy Rick). Interestingly, both the director and writers have previously worked on productions based on (or clearly inspired by) true stories.

This is not based on a true story but uses a lot of the real-life elements currently wreaking havoc on the world. So much that it almost hits a little too close to home at times.

Even though it may seem strangely counterintuitive, I loved being able to spend a few hours in a world that felt more familiar than the one we’re living in now. A world where those in charge are leaders for good and want a positive evolution for everyone.

Horror comes when you flip over to a news channel after watching this movie and realize the world is very different now. This entertaining action thriller seems eerily familiar, but there’s no world leader ready to step up and set things right. Not yet, anyway.

That’s why a movie like this one is a good reminder of how things should be. Also, you could just sit back and enjoy it as mind-numbing relaxation. Both are fine, and we need both.

G20 begins streaming on Prime Video on April 10, 2025.

Details

Director: Patricia Riggen
Writers: Caitlin Parrish & Erica Weiss and Logan Miller & Noah Miller
Cast: Viola Davis, Anthony Anderson, Marsai Martin, Ramón Rodríguez, Douglas Hodge, Elizabeth Marvel, Sabrina Impacciatore, Christopher Farrar, Antony Starr