London Has Fallen
Dustin Chase
Antoine Fuqua is no great director, however he did manage to have the better of the two White House attack films in 2013. Three years later, we are looking at an unwarranted action sequel with a script so bad, even Fuqua refused to direct. With most of the same surviving cast, superfluous director Babak Najafi was hired from the television sector to helm the studio controlled project. “Vengeance must always be profound and absolute,” they say, yet there is nothing profound here and the only absolute is the continuation of this franchise. Gerard Butler in his second action film in under a week, aims to be one of 2016’s worst actors. London Has Fallen might be more violent than the previous but it’s also a whole lot dumber.
US President Benjamin Asher (Eckhart) has enjoyed a quite three years since surviving the worst terror attack on American soil since 9/11. His head of security Mike Banning (Butler) eternally by his side prepares to tender his resignation to be at home when his child is born. Everything is put on hold when London’s Prime Minister dies suddenly. Secret Service director Lynne Jacobs (Bassett) throws together a plan for the president’s appearance at the state funeral. Moments after touching down in Brittan, terrorists begins blowing up London’s iconic landmarks and assassinating the visiting leaders from around the world. Banning once again goes into action hero mode, protecting the president at all costs. As they race through London to get back to Air Force One, the terrorists take control of England’s biggest city.
You literally must turn your brain off to survive the stupidity that is constantly thrown on the screen.
You literally must turn your brain off to survive the stupidity that is constantly thrown on the screen. Logistics and realism are completely thrown out the window as the unrealistic terror attack takes place. Not that Oscar winning actors Melissa Leo and Morgan Freeman (who is now the Vice President) did much in the first film, but here they sit around a table watching and reacting to a screen for the entire film. The bad guys are predictable and foolish but they allow Banning and Asher to single- handedly take town over 100 terrorists. London Has Fallen plays for laughs, even while bodies are being smashed, exploded, stabbed and shot.
A more interesting and unique scenario would have been to let Asher bite the dust (doesn’t Eckhart have better roles to play anyway?) and make Bassett’s tough as nails character the president. Bassett and Butler shooting baddies in a foreign country would be something that might have kept me interested. Alas, this film has no intention of reaching outside the bubble. It’s predictable, distasteful and plain despite its helicopter crash scenes and car chases. However as long as these types of films continue to impress the crowds, provide violent and destructive escapism, we are very likely to see Camp David Has Fallen in the near future.
Final Thought
A distasteful and ignorant action thriller that defiles the mediocrity of the original.