Mark Reviews Movies: ANGEL HAS FALLEN

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Review by Mark Dujsik | August 22, 2019

Angel Has Fallen leaves one pining for the days when sequels weren't a given. There was a time when the continuation of a story in another movie or two was a narrative necessity or a creative desire, but here, we see the modern-day sequel laid bare as a hollow, money-driven expectation—no story or creativity required.

To be honest, we probably didn't need London Has Fallen, either, but we got it anyway. At least that sequel felt as if it had an inkling of an idea: basically, serving as a retread of Olympus Has Fallen, in which terrorists held the President and other government officials hostage in the White House, only with a larger playground—an entire city—for all of the bloody violence.

This one, though, barely has an idea, seeing series hero Mike Banning (Gerard Butler), the loyal Secret Service agent, framed for the attempted assassination of the President. He's on the run from FBI agents and members of the paramilitary organization trying to frame him, and that's pretty much the entirety of the plot, the development of the characters, and the routine standard for the movie's assorted action sequences.

In all fairness, this could be a fine idea for a continuation of this series, with its central protagonist put to a more personal test, in which his most dependable quality is challenged, than simply trying to keep the President alive during a prolonged siege. After the citywide carnage of the previous entry, it's almost refreshing to see something on a smaller scale, such this story's car chases in the forest, its standoffs near a cabin in the woods, and its climactic showdown in and around a hospital.

There's still a significant issue with this installment, though, and it's nothing that can be solved by a new type of conflict or a change in the location. We're still watching a sequel that clearly has been made as a requirement. There's no genuine spark of creativity driving it, and that obvious absence means the entire affair feels like a cheap and cynical one.

Banning is on the run, because such a plot provides an easy way to insert action sequences just about anywhere in the story—without coming across as another go at the plot of the previous movies. If the reliance on murky cinematography and the laughably blatant usage of green screens are any signs, the scope of the locations probably has been limited because the budget has been reduced. This is a movie made as quickly and inexpensively as possible—not because screenwriters Robert Mark Kamen, Matt Cook, and director Ric Roman Waugh wanted this story to continue for creative reasons, but because some executives thought they might make some money on a recognizable commodity.

The plot is almost too simple and silly to recount, but the gist is that Banning saves President Allan Trumbull (Morgan Freeman) from a drone attack while on a fishing trip (It's amazing any government work gets done in the world of these movies, considering there's a hostage situation or assassination attempt involving the President every year or so). Banning is framed for the attack, and because Trumbull ends up in a coma (There's no surer sign that a writer isn't even trying), there's no one to counter the evidence against Banning.

Banning is arrested, and on the way to a detention center, the group responsible for the attack try to abduct him (Don't ask why, as most of this plot only makes sense if one looks at it as an excuse for chases, gunfights, and brawls). He escapes, and trying to get to the President in order to clear his name, Banning seeks help from his estranged father Clay (Nick Nolte), a Vietnam vet who lives a secluded life in the woods.

There's also a conspiracy plot, involving a pair of unsurprising ally-is-actually-a-villain revelations, as well as some political intrigue involving the Vice President (played by Tim Blake Nelson) using the President's incapacitation to start a war with Russia (The movie suggests that returning the power of the presidency is some kind of historical anomaly, even though it has happened in recent-enough memory and even happened in the first film). None of this, of course, matters any more than the rest of the plot. It mostly gives the movie a restricted setting for the climactic showdown, following an absurdly lazy resolution to the plot of Banning's fugitive status.

One would think that, after three movies, there'd be some reason to care about these characters and some desire to shake things up on more than just a superficial level. Angel Has Fallen mostly exposes that the main problem is that, solely because of Hollywood requirements, there are three movies in this series.

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