Being charged with the attempted assassination of the president of the United States of America while protecting this important man is ironic and very scary. Mike Banning (played by Gerard Butler) finds himself in this impossible mess in the third film of the Has Fallen series, Angel Has Fallen (2019).
The first and second films in this series are impressive, enjoyable but the third instalment is slightly different. In the previous films, the president’s life is on line as he faces assassination attempts and Mike Banning, a top Secret Service agent, employs all kinds of tactics to save and protect the president. Yet again in this film, there's another assassination attempt on the president and Mike Banning is arrested as the culprit! The celebrated hero quickly becomes the fugitive on the run to save his life and that of the president as well.
Mike Banning is the most senior member of the Secret Service, leader of the president's security details and in this instalment, Allan Trumbull (played by Morgan Freeman) is the president. Mike's health is deteriorating as he suffers from insomnia, dizziness and other health issues as a result of injuries sustained over time. He moves from doctor to doctor and pops pills into his mouth like candy. His loyalty to POTUS is still unwavering so the president assures him of the desk job of Director of Secret Service, if he wants it.
The president is facing attacks from the people and press on his supposed plan to bring in private contractors to fight wars. While on a fishing trip surrounded by his security detail, drones are released targeting and killing the men except for Banning who saves the president's life. When Banning wakes up in the hospital, he's cuffed to the bed and FBI agent Helen Thompson (played by Jada Pinkett Smith) reveals that he's being held for the assassination attempt. It's shocking and Banning is disoriented, realising someone will not stop the attempts until the president is dead. Who is after POTUS and how will Banning get out of the cuffs to save him?
Just like the previous films, Ric Roman Waugh, the director of this film takes the audience on a wild, fast-paced and action-packed race. It's not only about the president anymore, the attention is also on his lead security man, Mike Banning. The direction this plot takes is a little surprising but the storytelling leaves a sour taste. Having seen the previous films, I wondered what the third film would be about. I certainly didn't expect that Banning would be the focus.
The bait set to ensnare Banning is astonishing and well coordinated such that if this isn't fiction, the evidence will be damning and enough to send Banning to imprisonment for life. But from the start, I already figured out the villain, what they were up to and where they were headed. When this happens, it means the movie is predictable and kind of average for me. Or perhaps because I'd seen the first and second films in the series and they all followed a similar pattern. A not-too-predictable plot would have been great. Also, the plot weighs more on the emotional. We see Banning's past colliding with what his future will look like.
All the same, it's nice to see the return of Morgan Freeman as the president and the inclusion of Jada Pinkett Smith and Lance Reddick to the cast. Jada's role isn't impressive in my opinion and her acting is meh. Lance Reddick as always did great and commanded attention as outgoing director of Secret Service.
The visuals, editing and sound are good but not great. Some parts are shaky like the bomb scene featuring Banning's dad and the mercenaries. I had to focus really hard to grasp the scenario.
Overall, this film is good but not as captivating and compelling as the previous two. If I could figure out the entire film from the first scene, then it's not impressive. Perhaps the angel has fallen. I'll give it 3 stars out of 5.
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Other images are screenshots from the movie