Entertainment companies never cease to amaze me, and Amazon is one of them. Their upcoming action-thriller, "G20" just dropped its trailer, and despite all the seriousness of the tone, the one-liners, and fight choreography, I can't help but see it as a comedy. 

I'm not going to prep you. It's better if I don't. Just watch the trailer first. 

The target becomes a weapon. G20 starring Viola Davis is streaming on Prime Video April 10. pic.twitter.com/9mC1wYrEcW

— Prime Video (@PrimeVideo) February 12, 2025

This movie began in November 2022, midway through the Biden presidency. Production was supposed to begin in 2023 but was halted thanks to the SAG-AFTRA strike. Finally, filming began in January 2024 and concluded in March of that year. 

I think they thought Kamala Harris was going to win. They wrote the protagonist as a strong black woman, and tried to make her look like an action hero, because "strong black woman" would have been a huge narrative had Harris won. 

Hollywood tends to ride cultural trends just as much as internet creators do. If Harris had been elected, a black woman as a world leader would have been a character they would have played with, as it would give the protagonist real world weight. Harris doesn't need to have ever picked up a gun or thrown a punch, the comparisons would have been made regardless, giving Harris some good ol' fashioned Hollywood shine. 

You saw the same thing happen when they thought Hillary Clinton was going to win in 2016. "Madam Secretary" with Téa Leoni was a character inspired by Clinton, and came out with Clinton was getting her campaign ready for the next election. "On the Basis of Sex" was a pro-feminist film that was supposed to lend weight to the power of feminism and a feminist victory lap in a world where Clinton won. 

"G20" is one of those productions that anticipated one electoral outcome but got another. 

But even if Harris had won, it's still full of tropes that many a movie-goer are sick of. The strong woman who can take on a man larger and more muscular than her is present, as you can see. It seems they try to spin this as the protagonist, President Taylor Sutton, was once in the military, taking part in Fallujah back in 2004. This is supposed to give the character combat knowledge. 

The only issue is that back in 2004, women did not see front-line combat. That only started in 2013. Not that women didn't see combat, but they were usually in medical and support roles. Marine Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester won a Silver Star for her actions during combat in Iraq in 2005, but she was part of an MP team who were ambushed. Perhaps the movie will copy Hester's story, but the character looks more like she's trained far more than your average soldier. 

Moreover, lead actress Viola Davis is about to hit 60 years of age. Even if she was well-trained, the people she's fighting are younger, muscular men who clearly have their own training. A 60-year-old woman who hasn't seen combat in a long time isn't going to stand a chance against a fighting force in their prime. 

It's all just silly, and I use that word pointedly. This film looks like it's embracing everything that has caused audiences to roll their eyes for years now. A Harris win would not have given this film any additional help.

Honestly, it just looks like a mix of "Die Hard" and "Olympus Has Fallen," but gender-swapped, and with the role being one of the worst possible choices for "action hero."  

I have a strong feeling this movie is going to be legitimately funny without meaning to. I can't wait to watch it.