Angel Has Fallen
review by Bobby Blakey
In 2013 there were two films that were released showing and action packed setting of an attack on the White House. Olympus Has Fallen was both the more violent and overall better of the two and after its success they returned for the 2016 hit London Has Fallen. Now we heading into an all-new chapter with Angel Has Fallen starring Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman, Jada Pinkett Smith, Tim Blake Nelson and Nick Nolte with Snitch director Ric Roman Waugh at the helm. Could this latest chapter bring the same action fun as the previous films or will it feel like a betrayal?
Angel Has Fallen follows an assassination attempt on U.S. President Allan Trumbull and his trusted confidant, Secret Service Agent Mike Banning, is wrongfully accused and taken into custody. After escaping from capture, he becomes a man on the run and must evade his own agency and outsmart the FBI in order to find the real threat to the President. Desperate to uncover the truth, Banning turns to unlikely allies to help clear his name, keep his family from harm and save the country from imminent danger. I love this franchise. The first two installments offered up old school aggressive action that is a ton of fun to watch. Sure there are elements that you have to keep open minded about but that is part of the fun of it all.
I never thought after the first film it would get a sequel, but here we are with the third and likely final chapter. Where the first two films were very similar in tone despite going global, this one is a bit different. This one plays up more like The Fugitive albeit with more of the badass action and gives more depth into Banning’s character. I enjoyed that his evolution isn’t that of the usual action hero and showcases very real consequences to everything he has been through in the previous films. The same can be said for Freeman’s Trumbull who has consistently evolved through the series leading up to sitting in the President’s chair this time around.
As you expect the action is big and loud in the best way possible. There are tons of shoot outs, fights, car chases and everything else in between that keeps this franchise moving forward. There are elements here that we have seen before, but being this invested in a character and knowing his abilities going into this one makes for something fun and new. I loved this new chapter and they did a good job capping it off to wrap up the franchise should they do so, but cannot lie, I would love to see Butler as Banning again taking out the bad guys in the future.