Angel May Have Fallen, But This Movie Is A Step Up From Its Predecessors

“Predictable” is an understatement when it comes to the latest action thriller, Angel Has Fallen. But the film does offer spectacular visuals and a much stronger performance from Gerard Butler as the franchise lead. Ultimately, it adds up to a third installment of the Fallen trilogy that’s less than perfect, but arguably the best of the bunch.

Let’s deal with the monster in the room up front: the film’s lackluster story. It’s not that the story can’t be enjoyable. It’s that we’ve seen it seemingly a million times before. And despite the film’s attempts to play the villains as mysterious and unknown, audiences will likely be able to identify the primary antagonist the moment they meet them.

Former stuntman-turned-director Ric Roman Waugh uses his experience to provide a perspective on action which is well choreographed and realistic. The height of this particular talent appears during a beautifully staged drone attack on Trumbull (Morgan Freeman). Mike Banning, played by Butler, is also a much more rounded character in this film. From dealing with past injuries to an unhealthy use of painkillers and rediscovering his father, there’s more depth to Banning that makes it easier for audiences to connect with.

Speaking of Mike’s father, Clay Banning (Nick Nolte) provides an amusing and humorous element to a series that has been very uptight to this point. With spectacular action set pieces and these surprisingly humorous subplots, Angel Has Fallen is quite the spectacle, even if its plot falls short on being interesting.

MoviesTimothy NagleAugust 23, 2019Angel Has Fallen, Movie Review, gerald butler, Morgan FreemanComment