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Two mediocre movies in two weeks for Gerard Butler
C-Gerard Butler‘s once-familiar face had surprisingly been absent from movie screens for three years up until the last two weeks, when first Gods of Egypt and now London Has Fallen show up in rapid succession. Judging by the thoroughly mediocre quality of both films, it may be another three years before audiences want to see Butler again.
London Has Fallen is a sequel to the unexpectedly successful 2013 action film Olympus Has Fallen, Butler’s most recent live action film. Once again, he plays Secret Service agent Mike Banning, responsible for the safety of U.S. President Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart), who is in London for the funeral of the British Prime Minister. Terrorists suddenly launch a massive attack, blowing up various London landmarks and assassinating several other world leaders. Their ultimate goal is to publicly execute Asher for “war crimes,” unless Banning can keep him safe.
As with many action sequels, London Has Fallen represents a distinct step back in terms of personnel and budget from its predecessor. Director Babak Najafi, whose previous American experience consisted of a couple of episodes of the cable TV series Banshee, steps in for Antoine Fuqua. Najafi acquits himself well in the nearly non-stop action scenes in London Has Fallen. Unfortunately, he can’t completely cover up the cheesy special effects that often rival those found in a Syfy Channel movie. Nor can he make his Eastern European location shots look like authentic London locales, no matter how many CGI-generated landmarks like Big Ben and the Tower of London get destroyed. Najafi is also saddled with a screenplay that is filled with mostly bad one-line retorts delivered by Butler and that, even by modern-day thriller standards, defies belief. The audience is asked to believe that hundreds of heavily armed Arab terrorists have infiltrated the police and army and can launch a dozen perfectly coördinated attacks. Despite its shortcomings, however, London Has Fallen can be fun to watch at times for those who don’t take it too seriously or mind considerable gore. Also, Butler is fun to watch; he doesn’t chew as much scenery here as he did in Gods of Egypt, but his character is just as gonzo, with a penchant for inflicting pain on his enemies that makes Arnold Schwarzenegger look like a pacifist. Plus, no movie with Morgan Freeman appearing (in this case, vice-) presidential can be all bad. London Has Fallen doesn’t quite rise to the level of guilty pleasure, but, unlike the film’s version of London, it’s not a total disaster either.
Continue reading on London Has Fallen: Mini-review
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