Movie Reviews
G20 Movie Review: Viola Davis Anchors an Uneven Thriller
In this G20 movie review we’re discussing an action-thriller with the makings of a geopolitical Die Hard, director Patricia Riggen places Oscar-winner Viola Davis front and center as a U.S. president forced to return to her military roots when terrorists seize control of a high-stakes international summit. Despite a timely premise and a cast packed with talent, the film delivers more formula than firepower. With a heavy-handed script, clunky dialogue, and uneven pacing, G20 ultimately squanders its potential, becoming a middling genre entry that leans too hard on tropes without earning the tension they require.
Setup:
The setup is undeniably bold. President Danielle Sutton (Viola Davis) is not only a decorated military veteran but also a sitting head of state caught in a brutal siege during a G20 summit in Cape Town. When a team of mercenaries, led by the villainous Edward Rutledge (Antony Starr), storms the venue, Sutton must rely on her combat training to protect world leaders, her own family, and the fragile balance of global power.
At the center of this storm is Davis, whose gravitas anchors the film, elevating even its most clichéd scenes. Whether she’s staring down the barrel of a gun or delivering a rousing speech about economic equity, Davis embodies a woman balancing ferocity with diplomacy. Her physical performance is as convincing as her emotional range, and her presence keeps G20 from tipping into straight-to-streaming mediocrity. However, even her excellence can’t overcome a screenplay that feels overstuffed and underdeveloped.
A Weak Script:
Writers Caitlin Parrish, Erica Weiss, and the Miller brothers load the script with topical concerns – cryptocurrency, global corruption, economic inequality, and misinformation via deepfakes — but these themes are explored at a surface level. Rather than diving into the nuance of any one issue, the film uses them as window dressing to justify action beats. The result is a patchwork of modern anxieties filtered through genre spectacle, with little room to breathe.
The action sequences are competent but rarely inventive. There’s a utilitarian feel to the choreography, guns blaze, bodies fall, and Viola Davis dispatches villains with brute efficiency — but there’s little in the way of standout set pieces. A late-film helicopter showdown hints at the scale and operatic intensity the movie could have embraced throughout, but by then, fatigue has already set in.
The pacing is uneven, bouncing from family drama to global diplomacy to firefights without a strong tonal throughline. The first act is bogged down by exposition and thin character development, particularly regarding Sutton’s children Serena (Marsai Martin) and Demetrius (Christopher Farrar), and her husband Derek (Anthony Anderson). While the First Family adds stakes, their dynamic feels more sketched than lived-in.
Supporting Actors That Feel Underused:
Antony Starr, best known for The Boys, plays Rutledge with intensity, but the character feels disappointingly one-dimensional. His cyber-terrorism, rooted in betrayal and grief, could have been compelling, but the film reduces it to high-tech MacGuffins.
Supporting players like Ramón Rodríguez (Agent Manny Ruiz) and Elizabeth Marvel (Treasury Secretary Joanna Worth) are competent but underused. The ensemble, including Clark Gregg, Sabrina Impacciatore, and Douglas Hodge, are mostly sidelined as hostages or background chatter.
Lackluster Direction:
Riggen, known for The 33, directs with competence but without flair. The cinematography is flat, and the hotel setting lacks personality. Attempts to show global urgency via media cutaways fall flat. The score offers pounding drums and swelling strings—but adds little emotion or tension.
Viola Davis is the Standout:
Viola Davis is the reason to watch G20. She delivers gravitas, physicality, and poise that elevate the material. Her performance makes the absurd seem possible, at least for a moment. Unfortunately, the rest of the film rarely rises to meet her level.
Thematically, G20 wants to say something about technology, leadership, and trust. But with thin characters and scattered execution, it says little of lasting value.
Overall:
G20 feels like a missed opportunity. With Viola Davis in the lead and a globally relevant premise, it had the chance to be something great. Instead, it’s a generic action-thriller with a few highlights and a lot of wasted potential. G20 has the bones of a smart political action-thriller, and Viola Davis gives it everything she’s got. But clunky writing and flat direction hold it back from greatness. It’s worth a watch for fans of Air Force One or The Woman King, but temper your expectations.
G20 Review: Struggles to Rise Above Its Own Premise
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Acting – 5/10
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Cinematography/Visual Effects – 4.5/10
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Plot/Screenplay – 5/10
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Setting/Theme – 6/10
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Watchability – 5/10
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Rewatchability – 3/10
User Review
( votes)
Summary
G20 kicks off with a bold premise and powerhouse performance from Viola Davis, playing a U.S. President forced to become a soldier again when terrorists take over a global summit. Director Patricia Riggen crafts an intense, globe-spanning thriller that mixes geopolitical suspense with high-octane action. But despite strong performances and dynamic set pieces, the film struggles to balance its sharp concept with underwritten subplots and supporting roles that fade into the background. Ultimately, G20 lands somewhere between Air Force One and The Woman King—ambitious, timely, but not as explosive as it aims to be.
Pros
- Viola Davis commands the screen with a physically and emotionally grounded performance.
- Unique fusion of political drama and action thriller.
- Cinematic use of Cape Town brings international flair.
Cons
- Supporting characters lack depth.
- The second act loses narrative momentum.
- Attempts to juggle social commentary and spectacle don’t always land.
Acting
Cinematography/Visual Effects
Plot/Screenplay
Setting/Theme
Watchability
Rewatchability
Summary: G20 kicks off with a bold premise and powerhouse performance from Viola Davis, playing a U.S. President forced to become a soldier again when terrorists take over a global summit. Director Patricia Riggen crafts an intense, globe-spanning thriller that mixes geopolitical suspense with high-octane action. But despite strong performances and dynamic set pieces, the film struggles to balance its sharp concept with underwritten subplots and supporting roles that fade into the background. Ultimately, G20 lands somewhere between Air Force One and The Woman King—ambitious, timely, but not as explosive as it aims to be.
2.4
Uneven Thrills
By ABBIE BERNSTEIN / Staff Writer
Posted: May 8th, 2026 / 08:34 PM
AFFECTION movie poster | ©2026 Brainstorm Media
Rating: Not Rated
Stars: Jessica Rothe, Joseph Cross, Julianna Layne
Writer: BT Meza
Director: BT Meza
Distributor: Brainstorm Media
Release Date: May 8, 2026
AFFECTION is an odd title for this tale. While it is about a number of topics and emotions, fondness isn’t one of them. Obsession, definitely. Love, possibly. The kind of general warm fellow feelings associated with “affection”? No.
There have been a lot of movies lately in which characters – mostly women – are grappling with false identities and/or false memories imposed upon them, mostly by men.
Let us stipulate that the protagonist (Jessica Rothe) in AFFECTION is not an android or in an artificial reality. However, we can tell something is way off from the opening sequence. A car is stalled on a tree-bordered highway. Rothe’s character is lying face down on the asphalt beside it, possibly dead.
But then the young woman rises, dragging a broken ankle. She experiences a full-body seizure. Fighting to recover, she sees oncoming headlights and tries to run, only to be hit by a car.
The woman wakes up in a bed she doesn’t recognize, next to a man (Joseph Cross) she likewise is sure she’s never seen before. One big confrontation later, the man says his name is Bruce – and that the woman is his wife, Ellie.
Ellie insists that her name is Sarah Thompson, and she is married to someone else, with a son. When she sees her reflection in a mirror, she doesn’t relate to the face looking back at her.
Bruce counters that Ellie has a rare neurological condition that causes her to block out her waking life and believe her dreams are real. This is why they agreed, together, to move to this isolated house, without the kinds of interruptions that can hinder Ellie’s recovery.
The set-up is presented in a way where we share Ellie’s skepticism. But Ellie and Bruce’s little daughter Alice (Julianna Layne) immediately identifies Ellie as “Mommy!” Alice appears to be too young to be in on any kind of deception, so what is going on here?
AFFECTION eventually explains this via a helpful videotape, though it’s so convoluted that viewers watching on streaming may want to replay the sequence to make sure they understand the exposition.
Writer/director BT Meza musters a sense of menace and lurking weirdness, as well as making great use of his location.
We still have a lot of questions, many of which are still unanswered by the film’s end. It may not matter to the points AFFECTION is trying to make, but a better sense of exactly how all this started might help our investment.
As it is, despite a heroically versatile performance by Rothe, a credible and anguished turn by Cross and appealing work from Layne, we’re so busy trying to piece together what’s important and what’s not and how we’re supposed to feel about all of it that it can be hard to keep track of the action as it unfolds.
Agree or not, Meza’s arguments are lucid and illustrated clearly by AFFECTION’s events. However, the movie is structured in a way that becomes more frustrating as it goes. We comprehend it intellectually but can’t engage viscerally.
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RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — In this episode of 8News Reel Talk, digital producer Julia Broberg is joined by anchor Deanna Allbrittin and reporter Allison Williams to talk about “The Devil Wears Prada 2.”
The hosts gave their reviews and assigned the following star ratings:
Deanna: ★★★★.5
Allison: ★★★.25
Julia: ★★
To watch more livestreams and digital video content, head to the WRIC+ Originals page. You can also watch full on-demand videos on your smart TV using the WRIC+ app.
Billie Eilish fans prepare yourself, the much talked about secret project has finally arrived on the big screens!
Billie Eilish has always been about intimacy over artifice, but her latest concert film takes that to a visceral new level. Co-directed by Eilish and James Cameron, Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) manages to bridge the gap between a massive stadium show and the quiet grit of life backstage.
The film starts 18 minutes out from the show and builds the tension until audiences are literally folded into a box with her. Being taken under the stage, passing fans who have no idea she’s inches away, sets a tone of total immersion. What makes this film different is the balance between the spectacle and the behind-the-scenes reality. We see the creative shorthand between Billie and James Cameron as they chase what she calls the “best kind of sensory overload”.
The film is very much fan focussed, with the sound mix being so specific that you can hear individual fans singing along in sync with the visuals.
There are so many standout moments, the handheld camera work during “Bad Guy” that gives a dizzying POV of the band, and the chilling minute of silence Billie requests from the crowd to record a vocal loop.
The film captures her unique stage presence. Influenced by rap culture, Billie refuses to have anyone else on stage, unlike many female artists that use back up dancers. Billie can hold the entire stadium in awe by herself which is incredible to witness, until Finneas joins her for a beautiful, emotional piano set.
Between the high-tech visuals and the “Puppy Room” (where she keeps rescue dogs for staff to decompress), the film feels incredibly personal. While the film doesn’t give us any new insights into Billie, Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) is an enjoyable experience that elevates the tradition concert film.
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