Angel Has Fallen movie review: Gerard Butler returns in a less bloated but just as boring sequel

Angel Has Fallen
Director: Ric Roman Waugh
Cast: Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman
Rating: 2/5 

Going into Angel Has Fallen, having watched the first two films in the franchise, you’d wonder why the studio decided to release this film one month and 19 days after July 4. The franchise is just what a deluded American needs and hopes to watch over US’ Independence Day weekend—a righteous president, his loyal subjects, brown and yellow terrorists, soldiers unquestioningly laying down their lives, and all of it wrapped up with a sweet speech about how God should bless America no matter what godforsaken things it does to others.

However, it seems a lesson has been learnt in the last three years since the last iteration released. The same old, John Abraham brand of nationalism will no longer cut it with the new woke crowd. It’s time to self reflect and introduce a more realistic villain—capitalist greed and corruption.

Watch the trailer for Angel Has Fallen: 

But even with a white villain and a half-hearted attempt to humanize Gerard Butler’s immortal special agent Mike Banning, the film still feels shallow and quite a drag to sit through. The special effects and the action has come a long way since the days of Olympus Has Fallen (2013) or London Has Fallen (2016) but in its essence, the film is still very predictable.

This time, America proves it’s loyal to no one when it turns its back on Banning, accusing him of attempting to murder the President, played by Morgan Freeman who has risen in ranks considerably since the last time we saw him.

Like Ethan Hunt recently or Jason Bourne before him, Banning decides to go rogue. He gets backstabbed, finds friends in unexpected places and throws a few grenades here and there. The film often turns into a pyromaniac’s wet dream with giant explosions, helped with the Dolby Atmos surround sound.

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Ah but don’t lose hope, ye seekers of substance in dumb action films. To give our Bhai-like special agent hero a little more character, director Ric Roman Waugh gives him insomnia and PTSD.

The flinching and the shaking doesn’t let him stand straight in normal life. However, all of it suspiciously goes away as soon as he is dodging bullets, firing guns at terrorists or stabbing someone a dozen times. Your issues may be worse and more troublesome than you are showing it to be, Banning. Wonder if it was intentional but it’s more likely just something Waugh forgot all about when he got his hands on fancy drones and a tonne of RDX to play with.

Fallen is a franchise that has lived longer than it had any reason to. It needs to be retired before we are forced to watch Gerard Butler save alien leaders from a comet shower or something. Because that’s the only probable next step. For those of you looking at me funny, remember Dwayne Johnson single-handedly nudged a missile away in F8 of the Furious. In the world of desperate Hollywood action franchises, nothing is too sacred to mess with anymore.

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