Brief Story Line
US President Danielle Sutton (Viola Davis - How to Get Away with Murder TV series, The Woman King etc) was planning to implement a new program that would help the poor farmers in Sahara desert. She wanted to bring this program to be approved by other leaders during the G20 convention in South Africa. Together with her husband Derek (Anthony Anderson - Ferdinand, The Departed etc), their two children, the rebellious Serena (Marsai Martin - Black-ish TV series etc) & her younger brother Demetrius (Christopher Farrar), they all went to the convention in a fortress-like hotel in Cape Town.
During the convention, Danielle was accompanied by Secret Service Agent Manny Ruiz (Ramon Rodriguez - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Will Trent TV series etc) while her family had their own protection detail. Due to many leaders of the world attended the event, it was given extra cover including from private mercenaries led by former Australian special forces Corporal Rutledge (Antony Starr -The Boys TV series, Cobweb etc). Unfortunately, on the first night when all the important persons were gathering, they were attacked by some people who had their own agenda. Danielle who was ex army together with Manny and few of the leaders tried their best to escape and stop the terrorists plan.
So how would the story conclude? You could find out in this movie.
End of Brief Story Line
To be honest, this plot was definitely not an original where some people were confined in one place and threatened by terrorists with people trying to escape and stop the plan. I for one felt this to be having the feel of that classic Die Hard. But at the same time I also felt it to be similar to The Fallen franchise since it involved Secret Service agents and US president. In fact the early part of the attack felt similar to the opening of Paris Has Fallen. Some people also compared it with Air Force One, likely because the president had to used all the experience and skill to save all.
Regardless of whichever movies/series that reminded you of, I felt this to be pretty entertaining. The action sequence were quite exciting and some of them were surprisingly brutal and the fights were violent enough with plenty of hand to hand combats and multiple explosions. Viola Davis was quite convincing taking the lead in the action part while Ramon Rodriguez had some shares in performing action roles in the past so no problem for him. Antony Starr was obviously the one they relied on to gather audience due to his rising popularity (btw I did not immediately recognize him at first due to his heavy beard). If I got to be honest though, he was way better as the psychotic Homelander than his character here.
This movie was directed by Patricia Riggen (The 33, Under the Same Moon etc). The producers seemed to have a lot of faith for her to deliver since her previous experience were all not action films. It was written by Caitlin Parrish (co-creator of The Red Line TV series and wrote some episodes of Under the Dome, Supergirl etc). I did not see if this movie was based on anything during the credits. Btw, there was no post end credit scene, however during the closing credits, there were few scenes showing the after math of the attack.
Aside from the names I mentioned above, there were some support characters like Treasury secretary Joanna Worth (Elizabeth Marvel - Presumed Innocent TV series, Lincoln etc), British Prime Minister Oliver Everett (Douglas Hodge - Joker, The Great TV series etc), South Korean first lady (MeeWha Alana Lee - The Chair TV series etc), Director of IMF Elena (Sabrina Impacciatore - The White Lotus 2nd season etc), the familiar face of Clark Gregg (Zero Day mi series etc) as US Vice President Harold and few others. The movie had a duration of 108 minutes which I thought was sufficient to cover the action and story. Critics and audiences did not look too impressed by the movie as proven by its mixed reception.
Overall there was nothing new that the movie provided here except for some heavy actions led by Viola Davis. The story was really average and the supposed twist was not shocking to me. Not because I did not expect it, but more because I never considered it at all. The characters were so so and nobody really stood out. I am not sure why but I did not feel the tension either which should have been the best part to enjoy in this kind of film. However, I was quite entertained by the action scenes which were a lot to see. Even my wife who was watching her own thing commented the frequent sound of gunshots and explosions she heard from the TV. So if you just want to see some actions with familiar plot & Viola Davis kick-ass, then you could certainly give it a try. But if you expect something new or deep, then this is definitely not your thing. The choice is yours.
Mike's movie moments rating: 3 out of 5 stars
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