Shadows on the Wall

G20

dir Patricia Riggen
scr Caitlin Parrish, Erica Weiss, Noah Miller, Logan Miller
prd Andrew Lazar, Viola Davis, Julius Tennon
with Viola Davis, Anthony Anderson, Antony Starr, Marsai Martin, Christopher Farrar, Douglas Hodge, Ramon Rodriguez, Sabrina Impacciatore, MeeWha Alana Lee, Elizabeth Marvel, Clark Gregg, Noxolo Dlamini, Theo Bongani Ndyalvane
release US/UK 11.Apr.25
25/US MGM 1h48

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Like an old-school action romp, this movie establishes witty character details and lively subplots before throwing everyone into a ridiculous high-concept thriller. Everything is so familiar, from the swooping camerawork to the thrumming musical score, that we can simply relax into the absurdly obvious dialog and plotting. The script mixes the premise of Die Hard with cool tech like cryptocurrency and deepfake videos. This is dumb retro-style fun.

A decorated war hero now serving as US president, Danielle (Davis) keeps her skills up-to-date with Secret Service officer Manny (Rodriguez), which comes in handy when rogue Aussie agent Rutledge (Starr) launches a violent attack at the G20 summit in Cape Town. Danielle escapes, but her husband Derek (Anderson) and their brainy rebellious-teen kids (Martin and Farrar) are trapped in the hotel, as are all of the world's major leaders. So she takes on Rutledge's army with the help of Manny, three fellow leaders (Hodge, Impacciatore and Lee) and two local commandos (Dlamini and Ndyalvane).

Remaining level-headed in the most outrageously nasty situations, Danielle is a terrific action hero, never flinching from even the beefiest thug coming at her with a huge gun. Fight scenes are skilfully staged with grittiness that adds urgency and desperation. So as the usual plot twists come along right on schedule, the film remains both edgy and fun. And even as the mayhem escalates exactly how we expect it to, the film keeps us engaged right to the gonzo climax.

Davis is having a blast in this role, playfully nailing the comical moments before kicking into super-fierce action mode. Starr adeptly leans into his villainous typecasting (see The Boys) as a wild-eyed hothead who happily stabs anyone who gets in his way. Anderson, Martin and Farrar add some welcome humour and tenacity as the first family. And there's ace support from veterans like Hodge as the British prime minister, Gregg as the vice president and Marvel as the treasury secretary.

For all the baddie's shouting about protesting political profiteering and corrupt wars, he's actually just greedy. At least comments about the frustrations of the voiceless and the actions of a tyrant add some unintended subtext. Even so, there isn't much to this movie. But director Riggen set up such a guilty-pleasure style that it's hard to resist cheap thrills like the nutty use of technology and lots of amusing family-values emotionality. We'd happily watch Davis take on many more villains.

themes, language, violence 10.Apr.25

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