It is hard to believe that it has been six years since Gerard Butler introduced audiences to Special Agent Mike Banning. Over the course of the film and its sequel; Banning kept the President safe against a never-ending barrage of threats both home and abroad.
For the new film “Angel Has Fallen”; Banning must protect a new President (Morgan Freeman) and clear his name when he is framed after a devastating attack on the President.
When he is suddenly the most wanted man in the country; Banning must use all his skills when he is abducted and subsequently escapes while be transported to a detention facility.
The movie takes a bit of time getting up to speed but wisely has some good action along the way to setup the film and increase the tension levels. Once the action revs up, it is full on pedal to the floor action with Butler throwing himself into the fray against heavy odds no matter the cost.
What makes this film stand out from the others is that narrative is more plausible than other action films and you do see Butler dealing with the results of his profession. This is not a Teflon Super Hero who has bullets bounce off his chest. This is a man who bears his physical and psychological scars from his years in service and has a hard time letting go of the work even though it is what he believes he is best suited for.
Morgan Freeman gives a very strong performance as does Nick Nolte who stole many of the scenes in which he was in and provided some real Wild Card comic relief and action to the film.
In the end it is Gerard’s picture and he throws himself into the part without becoming repetitive of his past films and giving Banning a relatable and sympathetic quality that is often lacking in films of this type.
In a summer of many films Over Promising and Under-Delivering: “Angel Has Fallen” is a refreshing exception as it was an enjoyable thrill ride from start to finish and I sure hope we have not seen the last of Agent Banning.
4 stars out of 5
Second Review by Chris Daniels
Angel Has Fallen, and it’s not alone; so has the quality of movie you can expect from this franchise.
First, let me acknowledge that I saw (and enjoyed) Olympus Has Fallen, and never saw London Has Fallen. I walked into the third installment expecting little more than a halfway-decent action flick.
The film opens with our man Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) in the middle of a firefight. It’s quickly revealed to be a new, private training course on a 5,000-acre compound. The land and the business are owned by Banning’s long-time military friend, Wade Jennings (played by Danny Houston). This business isn’t doing well, so Wade asks Mike for help with getting a military contract, which would pull it out of the red.
Banning, physically broken from his past adventures, goes home to his wife Leah (Piper Perabo), and new baby daughter. A strained home life puts pressure on Banning to turn down a Director role he will likely get offered by the President (Morgan Freeman).
On the day Mike gets the offer, the President is targeted by an assassination attempt, and Banning is framed for it.
The plot wasn’t bad. The action was passable, but not terribly engaging, particularly when compared to the recent John Wick 3.
The screenwriting is laughable, at best. It feels like a 17-year-old penned it with his friends in his parents’ basement over a long weekend. It’s overly simplistic and childish. The one-liners are campy and off-putting.
Worst of all was the blatant disregard for proper technical terminology. It’s obvious they didn’t hire a tech expert as an adviser, and ended up misusing many terms as a result. The one that stole the show was when the FBI said they were monitoring an encrypted file folder on the dark web…
There were also many points in the movie that were not meant to be humorous, but received laughs nonetheless.
This is simply a sub-par movie. It was saved from being a total write-off only by Nick Nolte’s character, Clay, who brought some much needed comic relief, in a believable way.
Don’t waste your money. See it later on Netflix if you must.
2 out of 5 Stars (only because I love Morgan Freeman)
Edited By: Jeff Boehm
