Mike Banning is framed for an assassination attempt on the president,
and must evade his own people as he tries to clear his name. ACTION
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Angel Has Fallen (2019)Directed by Ric Roman Waugh
Written by Robert Mark Kamen, Matt Cook, Ric Roman Waugh Starring Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman, Danny Huston, Lance Reddick, Piper Perabo, Nick Nolte, Tim Blake Nelson, Jada Pinkett Smith Sequel to 2016's London Has Fallen |
Well, I watched the third entry as promised, and it is quite a mess. Nowhere near the intensity of the first two. In fact, it feels pretty disjointed, almost like an afterthought. Clearly, somebody in a suit said "Hey, we already made two. We need a third." The story is generic, the villain is bland, and you can see the plot twist coming from a mile away. Even Gerard Butler is starting to look tired, and you can see the dollar signs in Morgan Freeman's eyes.
Nearing the end of his run as a field agent, Secret Service Agent Mike Banning (Butler) has frequent headaches, spinal problems, and an addiction to painkillers. None of these serious problems will ever once impede his ability to kick terrorist ass, thankfully. It's almost like it never really mattered in the first place. He gets framed for a botched assassination attempt on President Trumbull (Freeman, taking over for Aaron Eckhart, who is clearly necessary for this franchise to work), who ends up in a coma. Banning is arrested and freed by paramilitary thugs led by his old friend he never mentioned before, Wade Jennings (Huston). Now, Banning must evade the Secret Service, the FBI, and Wade's goons in order to prove his innocence and save the president. Frankly, it could've been done better. The stakes never seem anywhere near as high as they were in the first two films, and a lot of the stunt work is severely watered down. Angel Has Fallen will join The Godfather: Part III, Spider-Man 3, and The Matrix Revolutions in the hall of shitty threequels that weren't up to snuff. There's only so many times you can put the president in highly organized mortal danger before it gets old, especially when it's a different president with no personal connection to Banning. If you're forgetting, that was the whole crux of this franchise in the first place. Hopefully, this trilogy will stay a trilogy, but the suits never learn. |