Angel Has Fallen (2019) Lionsgate/Action RT: 121 minutes Rated R (violence and language throughout) Director: Ric Roman Waugh Screenplay: Robert Mark Kamen, Matt Cook and Ric Roman Waugh Music: David Buckley Cinematography: Jules O’Loughlin Release date: August 23, 2019 (US) Cast: Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman, Jada Pinkett Smith, Danny Huston, Piper Perabo, Nick Nolte, Lance Reddick, Tim Blake Nelson, Michael Landes, Joseph Millson. Box Office: $69M (US)/$146.7M (World)
Rating: ** ½
Show me somebody who’s surprised by anything that happens in Angel Has Fallen and I’ll show you somebody who’s never seen a movie or TV show before. This three-quel to Olympus Has Fallen, one of two White House under siege flicks in 2013, is as predictable and by-the-numbers as they come. It’s the kind of movie where certain characters may as well be wearing T-shirts that read “Bad Guy Right Here!” There is literally nothing in Angel Has Fallen that we haven’t seen in at least a hundred other action movies. However, I don’t mind that as much as I do the laziness with which it’s executed. Nobody seems to care all that much this time around. For all the fighting, shooting and blowing stuff up, there’s very little energy behind it.
If the first two movies (the second being 2016’s London Has Fallen) are Die Hard and Die Hard with a Vengeance respectively, Angel Has Fallen is The Fugitive by way of A Good Day to Die Hard (I know, that one sucked, right?). Much like John McClane in that last crappy movie, Secret Service agent Mike Banning (Butler, 300) isn’t getting any younger. On top of slowing down, he suffers from migraines, insomnia and an addiction to pain killers. On the upside, he’s just been offered the job of Secret Service Director by President Allan Trumbull (Freeman, The Shawshank Redemption). It seems like the right move after all his years of service in the field. Even his old Army buddy Wade (Huston, Wonder Woman) thinks he should take the job.
While on a fishing trip with Trumbull, a drone attack claims the lives of the entire security detail save for Banning who saves the President’s life. When he comes to in the hospital, Trumbull is in a coma and he’s in handcuffs. FBI agent Helen Thompson (Smith, Girls Trip) informs him that evidence has been found implicating him in the assassination attempt. It’s a frame job, of course, but nobody believes him. While being taken to prison, Banning’s transport is attacked allowing him to escape (after taking out the attackers, of course). He goes on the run determined to prove his innocence. Naturally, it turns out to be part of a larger conspiracy.
Like I said earlier, the identity of the villain(s) is obvious from the get-go. The late critic Roger Ebert coined the term Law of Economy of Characters which states that no character in a movie is extraneous or unimportant. If the filmmakers take the time to introduce a character, it generally means he or she will serve some sort of purpose. Now I’m not going to reveal the identity of the bad guys in Angel Has Fallen but I will guide you in figuring it out. Watch the scene where Trumbull meets with his staff in the Oval Office. Only one other character says anything of importance. He’s also the only one played by a recognizable actor. With this in mind, it’s easy to pick out Mr. Villain.
Directed by Ric Roman Waugh (Snitch), Angel Has Fallen is definitely NOT what I’d call a good movie. It’s lazy and perfunctory. It’s contrived and filled with plot holes and unbelievable coincidences like a character showing up someplace he’s never been at just the right time to rescue another character. The subplot about Banning reconnecting with his long-estranged father, paranoid Vietnam vet Clay (Nolte in extra-grizzled mode), feels rather extraneous. Are we really supposed to accept the idea that killing an army of mercenaries is a good father and son bonding experience? Then again, what sense would it make for them to toss a baseball back and forth?
In any event, Angel Has Fallen is a colossally silly action movie that doesn’t even have the decency to admit as much. Its biggest problem is that it isn’t any fun. It takes itself too seriously by trying to be topical. SPOILER ALERT! At one point, the villain publicly (and falsely) accuses the Russians of masterminding the assassination attempt. While it’s no more jingoistic than any given Reagan-era action movie, the movie’s dark tone makes it feel too real. Given the current fragile state of our relationship with Russia, how is this entertainment?
While Angel Has Fallen doesn’t skimp on the action, it goes about it all wrong. The best action scenes have personality. There’s not much on hand in Angel Has Fallen. Its action scenes have a strong been there-done that feel. Not only that, there’s no real momentum. You know something’s gone wrong when a chase involving a stolen 18-wheeler fails to engage. The acting and dialogue aren’t so great either. Banning’s grim, brooding performance feels out of place. Freeman gets off easy, he spends most of the movie in a coma. The rest of the cast…. well, let’s just say they earn their paychecks, nothing more.
Despite its many, MANY shortcomings, I didn’t actually hate Angel Has Fallen. For all its faults, it’s watchable. Actually, it’s the faults that make it watchable. I have to admit I got a kick out of calling every plot twist and turn. I got a few laughs out of the dumb dialogue and story contrivances. I was shaking my head and rolling my eyes a lot. But nothing made me roll my eyes more than the mid-credits scene which has to be seen to be believed. It’s so out of step with the grim precedings, it’s like a splash of cold water in the face after a hot sauna. All I can say, by way of wrapping up, is Angel Has Fallen is entertaining by accident.
