G20

It was sort of okay until about halfway through. It's annoying having a teenager save the day.

But the worst part was when the president, for the third time, decides she can't leave someone behind. She has to save them.

When the obvious thing is she can do more for them if she can actually get out of the situation.

Then she gets into a (second) fight with a terrorist, this time because she didn't just shoot him in the back of the head when she had the chance. These guys were killing people left and right, and she tells him to "drop the weapon" then lets him close while he's dropping it, and then I'm sure somehow she gets out of it, but at that point, I gave up.

G20 convention, where President-Viola spearheads an anti-famine project for funding.. farmers(?) from poor countries using cryptocurrency. It goes terribly wrong, with important hostages and the world's economics threatened for the duration of the film.

Personally, I feel this action thriller (with a light political theme) fails to hook the viewer from the start with an uninteresting, rushed and bare-boned subplot about family issues that adds little emotional weight. Slow pacing, flat action, a weak villain and more.

The cast is decent and does what they can with the material. With a Viola Davis playing a Military-President that one-shots surrounding enemies while spinning 360°, and the pair of "Wakandan" soldiers (this movie, not me) coming out on top. And Antony Starr's character (the main reason I tuned in) feels underwritten and ultimately forgettable.

That disappointment kind of sums up the whole thing. The plot, character development, and resolution all feel like they're just background noise for military action set pieces. It's not over-the-top, but there's little tension or intrigue, and not enough fun to recommend.

So watched this right after work today and I must confess I'm utterly bamboozled as to how hell a movie with such a stacked cast stuffed with so many action sequences can be so boring??

It's obvious it's got a decent budget as the production values are there and there's a whole heap of plot ideas (mostly B rated tech thriller and tinfoil hat taking points) and mixed character motivations but somehow fails to cohere into a solid whole.

Really disappointing as I really like a lot of the cast members and none of them are phoning it in.

Trying to find another 50 chars so I'd best point out it's MGM marque but it does feel like a amazon direct to streaming effort.

Caught this one out of curiosity and honestly, while it's not breaking any new ground, it wasn't as bad as some of these reviews make it out to be.

Yes, the plot is familiar (think Olympus Has Fallen meets streaming-era political thriller) and yes, some of the action scenes definitely stretch believability - but I actually found parts of it enjoyable. The pacing moves along quickly enough, and the production value is solid for what I assume is a straight-to-streaming project.

Anthony Starr is easily the standout - brings a fun, menacing edge to his role without going full cartoon villain. Viola Davis has her moments too, even if her character arc feels a bit rushed.

It's definitely heavy on the "message" and a bit too polished politically, but if you're not expecting a masterpiece and just want something explosive and passable to unwind to - it works. Especially if you're a fan of the cast.

Serena is the rebel hacker teen daughter of US President Danielle Sutton (Viola Davis). Derek Sutton (Anthony Anderson) is the first gentleman. G20 is holding a meeting in South Africa. The organizers have hired private security led by Edward Rutledge (Antony Starr). Danielle is personally protected by Secret Service Agent Manny Ruiz (Ramón Rodríguez).

This is White House Down adjacent. It has some action fun. It is unrealistic at times. It is ridiculous to take out most of the government protection with one blast. The premise is dumb but whatever. The movie does lose me when Viola Davis turns super-soldier. Aside from being a woman in her late 50's, the character is set up different from super fighting. The movie gets rather too ridiculous at the end. I like this up to a point. Too bad that it goes past that point.