LONDON HAS FALLEN (R)

Released by Focus Features
Reviewed by Adam Mast

Few films in recent memory have screamed “sequel” more than Antoine Fuqua’s ultra-violent White-House-under-siege actioneer, OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN.  If you’re wondering, yes — the previous statement was my attempt at sarcasm. The first film was pretty entertaining, but this is one of those follow ups that — yet again —- begs the question, “How can the same shit happen to the same guy twice?!”

In LONDON HAS FALLEN, Mike Banning (played once again by Gerard Butler) is back as the head of secret service, and this time, the father-to-be accompanies President Benjamin Asher (a returning Aaron Eckhart) to London following the untimely death of the prime minister. Shortly after their arrival, a brutal ambush at the hands of a mysterious enemy finds fierce Banning protecting a courageous Asher much like he did in the first picture — only here, it’s on foreign soil.

LONDON HAS FALLEN is the kind of movie wherein one might expect Jack Bauer or John McClane to pop up at any moment — only instead of those specific tough guys, we get Bauer/McClane composite Banning. It’s fitting, because LONDON HAS FALLEN plays like a less memorable season of “24.” Thankfully, though, it’s considerably more tolerable than A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD.

This is gung-ho Americana at its most bombastic.

“We don’t back down from a terrorist attack!”

“America, F*** yeah!”

Banning is the very personification of this thought process. He’s a guy who gets the job done because no one else out there is going to do it. It doesn’t matter that he has a pregnant wife at home. He’s going to take out the trash, no matter what danger might lay ahead. Not that there’s anything wrong with this line of thinking, particularly when it comes to action movies. The real problem with LONDON HAS FALLEN is that it hasn’t the truly rousing patriotic spirit of AIR FORCE ONE,  it isn’t exciting enough to reach the intense, dizzying heights of a movie like DIE HARD, and it isn’t over the top enough to match the gleefully joyful, ape-shit crazy attitude of something like COMMANDO.

Speaking of COMMANDO, I couldn’t help but smile at the inclusion of lines like, “I’ll be back” and “Get to the chopper!” in LONDON HAS FALLEN. No telling if these particular lines were a direct nod to the great Arnold Schwarzenegger or if they were simply happy accidents, but they were amusing, so that’s saying something.

The characterizations here are thin but that isn’t for a lack of trying on the parts of Butler and Eckhart. It’s simply the characters as written.  Banning no longer has friction with his friend Asher, and that lack of contention is sorely lacking in LONDON HAS FALLEN. Banning remains the consummate ass kicker but we’ve seen more effective variations of this same character in better movies. As for Asher, he has considerably less to do in this sequel. He’s simply there so that Banning can protect him. It could be argued that he served the same purpose in OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN, but clearly, he had more to do the first time around. Asher does have one particularly strong moment in the face of the enemy towards the end of this film, but by that  point, it’s too little, too late.

Meanwhile, the wonderful Angela Bassett is back as White House staff member, Lynne Jacobs,  and to call this a thankless role, would be a gross understatement. At the very least, she brings  some class to proceedings. Likewise, the great Morgan Freeman appears as the Vice President and it’s a shame that his biggest moment is yet another one of those typical Freeman speeches. Why these two outstanding actors weren’t given something more substantial to do, is beyond me.

Director Babak Najafi (who, interestingly, was born in Tehran) has fashioned a well-paced film with a few exciting moments. But again, the “go-through-the-motions” plot mechanics feel all too familiar, and there are more plot holes here then there were in THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. Furthermore, there are no real surprises, and even the bigger set pieces (including a rescue sequence filmed in a lengthy, single uninterrupted take and a motorcycle chase through the streets of London) lack a real sense of urgency and tension. Add to this poor special effects (ill-conceived CG explosions and blood splatter galore) and a handful of truly cheesy moments that were clearly meant to be taken seriously (the talented Angela Bassett is saddled with such a moment), and you have an action movie that, while not all-out bad, is only moderately serviceable.