I have always enjoyed inspired Die Hard knockoffs, which 2025 so far has been a year with two: G20 and Fight or Flight.  Looking at the recently released G20, we follow President Sutton (Viola Davis) at the G20–a meeting of the world’s biggest economies– who is hoping to gain support for her deal that aims to help farmers in South Africa. However, the meeting doesn’t go well as crypto mercenary Rutledge (Antony Starr) takes the G20 hostage, forcing Sutton to Macgyver her way out.

G20 is directed by Patrica Rigger, known by Gen Zers as the Director of the Disney Channel classic Lemonade Mouth (2011).

What Rigger does well in G20 is use the one location fantastically. The appeal here is watching Sutton stuck within a confined space having to think about how the dangerous environment can be used to their advantage.

There are two great examples of this when Sutton, Prime Minister Oliver (Douglas Hodge), Elena (Sabrina Impacciatore), Agent Manny Ruiz (Ramon Rodriguez), and Han Min-Seo (MeeWha Alana Lee) are on top of the lift.

Sutton falls through the hatch and finds herself in this tight lift with three mercenaries which Agent Ruiz drops into to protect his president. It’s a thrilling sequence with a real sense of danger. The three against two in such a tight space is so endearing, with great action and claustrophobic tension. 

And like Die Hard, the danger in the one-location setting is also funny. When Sutton and Agent Ruiz work together to rescue hostages in the kitchen of the hotel, Agent Ruiz overflows the sink and throws a plug on the ground while Sutton literally scones one of the mercenaries with a pan. Rigger allows the characters to use the environment to their advantage and the result is a lot of fun. 

From the mercenaries’ perspective, they think that trapping Sutton and Agent Ruiz in this one location will actually be to their advantage. To see that flip is rewarding as it results in us rooting even more when these two characters are just having to use what’s around them.

The film does have some family drama with Sutton’s two children, specifically a rebellious daughter who just “doesn’t understand.” It’s expected and surface-level at best as the drama is resolved after the daughter sees her mother kill a bunch of mercenaries.

Additionally, the ‘twist’ with an inside mole is not a shock and can be spotted from miles away.

Performance-wise, Viola Davis once again proves her talent as a leading actress and needs no defending. I was really caught by surprise as to how vulnerable her performance was.  

In one particular scene, during a conversation with the Prime Minister, she talks about a Time Magazine photo of her and how it didn’t tell the whole tragic story of her and a little boy. She really captures a sense of regret and guilt brilliantly, peeling away from Sutton the President back to being an ordinary person. 

Because Davis is such a great lead actress she sells it and you buy into that regret underneath the surface.

Anthony Star has a lot of fun as the antagonist Rutledge, whose whole plan is to crash the world economy so everyone invests in his crypto. On paper, he sounds a bit much but Starr sells it as he adds a great snobbery and swagger that we can’t help but enjoy. When you can see an actor having fun in the antagonist role it always makes the performance more endearing.

Overall, G20 knows what it is right from the start. It completely excels at that with two great lead performances. In short, I had a good time.

Review Courtesy of Matthew Allan

Feature Image Credit to MGM Amazon Studios via IMDb