Angel has Fallen, But has the Franchise?

 
 

 
By: Dylan Frazier, Pulse Editor
Email: frazierd@findlay.edu
Twitter: @dylanfrazier44
 
Sometimes it’s nice just to turn you brain off when watching a movie and just enjoy it for what it is. That’s exactly what Angel has Fallen is; you don’t have to really pay attention to anything other than the action. The story is virtually the same as the first two; someone tried to kill someone and someone else got framed for it, now they’re trying to figure out who did it. It’s a pretty dumb story just because they didn’t really differentiate from the first two at all. That said, the action sequences more than make up for its cookie-cutter story. On top of that, this is easily the best one of the three, which may not really say much.
 
Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) continues his life in the secret service but has other struggles than just protecting The President. He begins to suffer from concussions, insomnia, and severe pain throughout his body, but he doesn’t tell anyone. While on a fishing trip and suffering through the pain, President Trumbull (Morgan Freeman) offers him the job as Secret Service Director and Mike accepts the role, even though he doesn’t want to. But out of the blue, drones start attacking everyone there and they try to assassinate President Trumbull. Everyone dies but Mike and the President. That is when Mike starts running for his life because he’s accused of an attempted assassination of Trumbull. He’s been set-up but he doesn’t know who did it.
 
The action really was great in this movie. There were plenty of ridiculous explosions and gun fights that you forget that you’re watching basically Olympus has Fallen, the first movie in this franchise, for the third time. One scene in particular was pretty sweet to watch on the big screen. Mike and his dad, Clay (Nick Nolte), are fighting off a group of contract killers who want Mike dead before he exposes the real perpetrators. They almost get to Mike and Clay, but not before Clay blows up the entire compound with C4. He had wired the entire place with explosives and got out before anyone could harm them.
 
Again, if you’re looking for a great story go see another movie because this type of movie is so overdone. How many times does the president have to be double-crossed for him to really think about who he trusts? It’s always the president nearly dies and then Mike has to figure out who did. It always ends being somebody they both trusted and it just feels played out. But these movies continue to be a financial success, so clearly they know more than I do.
 
The story may feel drawn out and overdone, but with some great action and ridiculous explosions, Angel has Fallen, does its job as a mindless action flick.

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