London Has Fallen

This review may contain spoilers!

Olympus has fallen was a good film that never really begged a sequel; yet here we are. I would give London Has Fallen a 5.5/10.

One thing I really enjoy about this film is the action narrative, seeing Butler lead Eckhart through firefight after firefight is great entertainment value, particularly with the one liners that are peppered throughout this film. The editing in this film moves really well and progresses this film in a great manner; the special effects are another great display with most of the explosion effects and CGI crashing aircraft looking quite authentic. The fight choreography is really raw and brutal in this film; the fight sequences really make this film stand out. While I wasn't blown away by the cinematography there is one shot I have to pay special attention to; the scene in which Butler and a SAS Delta team storm the insurgents' base of operations has a fantastic shot that doesn't cut and really stood out to me.

Gerard Butler, who played Mike Banning, is the perfect lead for these films; his smooth carefree delivery of one liners really makes him a fun role. Aaron Eckhart, who played Benjamin Asher, really benefited from having more screen time in this film; Eckhart was definitely playing someone who felt more like a character rather than a symbol in this film. Morgan Freeman, who played VP Trumbull, was one of the few side characters that actually had good screen presence in this film; Freeman is a master of line delivery and his final exchange with Aboutboul is a really great scene. Bryan Larkin, who played SAS SGT, had quite a dominating presence for his minor role in this film; Larkin also had some really good chemistry with Butler in their scenes.

However the best performance came from Angela Bassett, who played Lynne Jacobs. Bassett has been a favourite of mine in both of these films, she really is an incredibly likeable actress and creates one of the most memorable characters of the film. She shares great chemistry with Butler in their scenes together and manages to make the subplot around Butler's soon to be born kid interesting. The scene in which she dies hits you the hardest and Bassett draws a big emotional response from the audience here.

This plot is far from perfect, frankly it stretches the imagination consistently and bends over backwards to fulfill the demand for action over plot. Sadly this film suffers from really poor pacing which is caused by weak antagonists, boring subplots, unnecessary characters and long patriotic speeches about America that just feel a little too forced. The cinematography for this film is odd to say the least, the director doesn't seem to have a consistent style and simple dialogue scenes look terrible. The score for this film is really forgettable, I never even paid much heed to what was playing in the background of the big action sequences.

Alon Aboutboul, who played Aamir Barkawi, is a really weak antagonist in this film; he doesn't do anything himself so you never really pay him much mind over the course of the film. Waleed Zuaiter, who played Kamran Barkawi, feels like the more central antagonist but once again he has weak motives; Zuaiter isn't very intimidating and quite a forgettable villain. Radha Mitchell, who played Leah Banning, is as pointless in this film as she was in Olympus Has Fallen; it feels like Mitchell is just in these films to remind us fleetingly that Butler's role has a reason to survive. Patrick Kennedy, who played MI5 Intel John Lancaster, is the subject of one of the worst plot twists of the film; you don't care about the 'mole' subplot and even less that Kennedy's role is a traitor. Colin Salmon, who played Chief Hazard, has a distinct lack of screen presence in this film; Salmon falls into the background as one of the many government leaders who do next to nothing in terms of this film's plot. Deborah Grant, who played Doris, is another weak link in the subplot that revolves around Butler's home life; Grant is quickly shown to be as unnecessary as Mitchell is. Sean O'Bryan, Robert Forster and Melissa Leo, who played NSA Ray Monroe, General Edward Clegg and DS Ruth McMillan respectively, are the returning minor roles of Olympus Has Fallen and sadly their role in this film is quite insubstantial; the few minutes we see these characters is fleeting and the nostalgia of the first film isn't enough to make them memorable. Jackie Earle Haley, who played DC Mason, is new to the Freeman/O'Bryan/Forster/Leo subplot and is by far one of the weaker links; Earle Haley's screen presence leaves much to be desired. Charlotte Riley, who played MI6 Jacquelin Marshall, has an entire subplot crafted around her over halfway into the film which I felt was far too late; Riley's role also has a backstory with Butler that is never explored or touched upon.