London Has Fallen

London Has Fallen

Starring Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett

Directed by Babak Najafi

The Story:
Three years after the terrorist attack at the White House, Secret Service Agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) is still protecting President Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart), but now he's about to be a family man as his wife Leah (Radha Mitchell) is pregnant.  As he contemplates leaving the Service, word spreads about the unexpected death of Britain's Prime Minister, and foreign leaders throughout the world travel to London to attend the services.

Even though there's an insane amount of security, terrorists - led by vengeful Aamir Barkawi (Alon Aboutboul), out for revenge after a drone attack two years prior - manage to assassinate most of the foreign dignitaries, and forcing Banning and Asher into hiding.  As they traverse the streets of London, Vice President Allan Trumbull (Morgan Freeman) watches from D.C.  Barkawi has an ultimate plan for the President - to assassinate him on live television, and it's up to Banning to protect the President and get him out of London alive.

The Synopsis:
"Olympus Has Fallen" was an action-packed smorgasbord of carnage and violence, something every action-loving person must see, especially compared to the toned-down PG-13 "White House Down" that came out a few months later.  The film was filled with visually stunning action, enough explosions to make Michael Bay jealous, and a likable hero.  Mike Banning became this generation's John McClane, and we loved him for it.

Now the action goes international with "London Has Fallen," a typical sequel that's a straight by-the-numbers in almost every aspect of a sequel.  There's a lot more explosions (as you see pretty much every London landmark go up in flames), some seriously sad deaths, a predictable mole you could identify a mile away, and an ending that's highly simplistic.  However, it still lends itself to be a very capable sequel, one that was entertaining from start to finish, filled with more lavishly insane violence and action, along with well-timed humor and intelligent quips.

While this isn't an Oscar-worthy film, it was able to maintain my attention and once again featured Gerard Butler kicking some serious butt.  While it might touch closer to home for some, especially in light of the Paris attacks, it still delivers what it wanted to.  Besides one scene featuring Banning fighting through a gang of terrorists in the dark streets of London in one continuous, glorious take, it's not a very memorable sequel, and there's not a lot that will be talked about in a few months, but it was a great film to lose yourself in.

A film like "London Has Fallen" balances the tightrope of reality versus suspension of belief, as recent events seem to both say this could really happen, as well as give credence to the fact that it never could.  The attacks on Paris showed us that nowhere is safe, and a group of terrorists with a deadly ideology can pull off a big scale attack with years of plotting and planning.  This is where "London" hits an all-too-real note.  The terrorists planned this attack for two years, and pulled it off to almost pinpoint precision.  This could happen in today's day and age, and unfortunately there's probably someone planning something of this caliber right now. 

On the flip side of the coin, I find it hard to believe an attack like this could really happen with all the unforeseen variables thrown in.  There were several foreign leaders who were assassinated at the start, and they were done in ways that it seemed no one could've predicted.  One dignitary was stuck in traffic, yet was effortlessly taken out.  Another was on a boat that was blown up.  No one could've predicted they would be at those certain places, so there was a bit of suspension of disbelief.

Still, looking at the world as it is today, it seems "London Has Fallen" might be something a little too real, and that is a scary thought.

The Summary:
While it's not as great or memorable as "Olympus," "London Has Fallen" has all the action and violence any fan of the genre would enjoy.

The Score: A-