Angel Has Fallen
03/09/19 Filed in: Cinema
This is not my type of film but with little choice available on the day we settled down for some formulaic action. It's the third in a trilogy that hasn't received spectacular acclaim, the original Olympus Has Fallen seemingly being the best of the bunch. Having not seen the earlier instalments I can't comment. It is, however, interesting to note that at Rotten Tomatoes while the critics can only muster 39% approval, audiences score 94%, so there are obviously a lot of people out there who found the film entertaining.
My problem with this type of film is that they always come across as special effects and fight scenes looking for a story. Here the plot starts with our secret service agent Mike Banning (the Angel) in far from tip-top shape and taking pills to keep himself going. This doesn't stop him acquitting himself admirably in simulated shoot-out staged by his friend and former fellow Army Ranger Wade Jennings, CEO of the paramilitary company Salient Globe. Salient Globe isn't doing too well as under the current President Allan Trumbull peace has broken out!
Banning is on a security detail to protect the President on a fishing trip and after he leaves the boat, because he's suffering a bit from his undisclosed migraine and back pain, the group are attacked by a squadron of sophisticated drones. They are sophisticated enough to pick out Banning using face recognition and avoid killing him although everybody else is not so lucky. Banning manages to save the President by diving with him below the surface of the lake. The President, however, is left in a coma and the Vice President assumes command.
The fact that only Banning survived and that forensic evidence is found to link him to the attack vehicles, makes him public enemy number one. The Angel has fallen! We all know it's a set up of course, and you don't have to be a genius to work out who's behind it. If you haven't done so by this point all will soon be revealed as the prison van taking Banning to the detention centre is attacked. He of course escapes and makes his way to a remote cabin where his estranged father Clay lives. But the bad guys are on his trail not realising that Clay is as dangerous as his son, there being a few surprises in store.
From this point on the bad guys adopt ever more extreme measures to get to Banning and to kill the President. But their cover has been well and truly blown, so it seemed a bit ridiculous to me that they would pursue their objective in such circumstances, not too mention the losses they had already sustained. Even if they did manage to kill Banning and the President, just about everybody knew at this point what was going down, so it would have been a pyrrhic victory. But, as is always the case with a film like this, it provided a storyline that ultimately pits the chief bad guy against Banning, after a lot of gunfire has been expended and the odd building blown to smithereens. As I've said, quite formulaic.
If you like this sort of thing you will no doubt find the film enjoyable. To be fair it doesn't ask a lot of you and the action sequences are entertaining. But you will have seen it all before!
The fact that only Banning survived and that forensic evidence is found to link him to the attack vehicles, makes him public enemy number one. The Angel has fallen! We all know it's a set up of course, and you don't have to be a genius to work out who's behind it. If you haven't done so by this point all will soon be revealed as the prison van taking Banning to the detention centre is attacked. He of course escapes and makes his way to a remote cabin where his estranged father Clay lives. But the bad guys are on his trail not realising that Clay is as dangerous as his son, there being a few surprises in store.
From this point on the bad guys adopt ever more extreme measures to get to Banning and to kill the President. But their cover has been well and truly blown, so it seemed a bit ridiculous to me that they would pursue their objective in such circumstances, not too mention the losses they had already sustained. Even if they did manage to kill Banning and the President, just about everybody knew at this point what was going down, so it would have been a pyrrhic victory. But, as is always the case with a film like this, it provided a storyline that ultimately pits the chief bad guy against Banning, after a lot of gunfire has been expended and the odd building blown to smithereens. As I've said, quite formulaic.
If you like this sort of thing you will no doubt find the film enjoyable. To be fair it doesn't ask a lot of you and the action sequences are entertaining. But you will have seen it all before!