Rent Angel Has Fallen (2019)

ANGEL HAS FALLEN - Angel Has Fallen review by jc

When there is an assassination attempt on the President,

The Secret Service Agent Gerald Butler is wrongly accused and taken into custody,

He managed to escape from his capture the FBI find real treat to the US President and takes action.

Later the FBI find traces of clues to the wrongly accused Secret Agent and Gerald Butler Goes Free,

After a treacherous attack, Secret Service agent Mike Banning is charged with attempting to assassinate President Trumbull. Chased by his own colleagues and the FBI, Banning begins a race against the clock to clear his name.

Twice as good as the last one. Half as good as a half good action film - Angel Has Fallen review by JD

The last one was a terrible film, so i wasnt holding much hope for this.

And largely thats the case again. Its just cheesy drivel. Films like this are ok if they dont take themselves to seriously - but this does. When you have films like John Wick where we see some proper, serious gun skills and sucker punch showing girls can do it to and Sicario which gives us gritty, believable action and all three every bit as dramatic and exciting (a lot more so actually) than this - I am left at a loss at what they are trying to do with films like this which just revolve around one stupidly OP character.

Our hero cuts through all comers without really showing any skill. They stand looking at him. He kills them. Awesome. Its mixed up occasionally with some hand to hand (where again the badguy stands and waits to be hit), usually assisted by zero light or shakey cam. Lame stuff.

For me there were a couple of saviours that kept me watching. Our lead certainly wasnt one of them.

The inclusion of his dad did take some of the weight of the serious naffness away (its still naff, but so naff it feels light hearted). Thinking about it, i may of turned the film off had he not turned up.

And the shoot out between the police and the more aggressive mercenaries was a tiny glimpse of some proper action. This exciting scene sadly was ruined by focusing on our hero taking out dummies, it really should of made more of a security v mercenary shoot out where the outcome would of hung in the balance or made the presidents predicament more tense. But as it was, no worries superman with his shakey cam and dummies will save the day.

Blaming the Russians was funny, as we know the Russians are to blame to everything we dont we like. Which i think would of been the only thing resembling a joke in the film.

Its just your typical by the numbers hero with token flaws, gets setup then beats all comers to save the day.

Yawn.

A very interesting and competently made thriller, albeit one which still has its problems - Angel Has Fallen review by TB

The Has Fallen franchise is one which, like many other actions staples, wears proudly on its sleeve exactly what it is. There will be action, laughs and big set pieces; logic will often be suspended but if you go with it, then you can have a silly 2 hours of fun. And one of the biggest strengths of this franchise is Gerard Butler. Whilst much has been written about his often-similar performances, which basically started with 300 and has then morphed slightly into whichever film he is doing, he is also at times a very skilled and capable actor. His finest performance for me will always be Tullus Aufidius in Coriolanus, where he comfortably stood toe-to-toe with Ralph Fiennes and was totally believable, at times carrying the film.

I mention Coriolanus because one thing which sets Angel has Fallen apart from many other action films like it is the focus in the first chunk of the movie on the PTSD suffered by Mike Banning. And this is something which I feel was a real missed opportunity by the film-makers to not elaborate more on. It is a very welcome thing that more and more, mental health issues are brought up and shown in these types of films and it is also stated clearly and emphatically that this is not a sign of weakness. I remember being very moved by the suffering shown by Rambo in Rambo: Last Blood, and that in many ways was better at conveying it than Angel has Fallen, but that the limited amount that is shown was moving and I wished that it had been fleshed out more. And I have no doubt that Butler would be up to this task.

When the proverbial does hit the fan, Angel has Fallen then comfortably falls into the familiar pattern of the previous movies, albeit this time the focus is on Mike Banning proving his innocence whilst being hunted. The set pieces are on the whole, good, but the standout sequence is Banning seeking out his father, played by Nick Nolte. There is not only comic relief, but also another broaching of the massive damage done by PTSD and war, albeit in a reduced capacity.

The final action sequence is again everything you’d expect, but the final discussion between Banning/Butler and President/Morgan Freeman is something which leaves the movie on a real high, in that the difficulties shown earlier and the subsequent concerns of how Banning thought he would be treated were shown to be totally unfounded. To have this explicitly said in a blockbuster film shows the progress that is being made and extremely welcome.

There is another sequel being made, with the same team (actors and director) coming back, so hopefully this trend can continue.