In 2013 action film fans flocked to witness the fall of the
White House in OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN. With President Asher (Aaron Eckhart) and his
cabinet taken hostage by North Korean terrorists intent of getting the codes
for a nuclear launch. The only thing preventing them was former Secret Service
agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) who was there and hidden during the initial
melee. The body count was high, the plot filled with holes and the concept of
the security unheard of at the time but no one cared. It was a rock ‘em sock
‘em action flick in the mold of DIE HARD. So the idea that a sequel would be in
order was a no brainer.
And yet it didn’t do near as well at the box office. Which
is surprising because all of the things that made the first film a success are
back and as over the top as the original. If you enjoyed the first film my
guess is you’ll enjoy this one as well.
A drone attack okayed by President Asher meant to take out
heavy duty arms dealer Aamir Barkawi (Alon Aboutboul) also takes out most of
his family as they were together for his daughter’s wedding. Fast forward to
the death of the British Prime Minister. The heads of state are gathering for
his funeral in London, including President Asher. Agent Banning is back on the
President’s detail (he was removed as the last film began) as preparations are
made for the trip.
Once they arrive and head for the church things change as
multiple attacks throughout the city on all of these government leaders take
place. With a skilled eye and a bit of luck Banning is able to save the
President once again and the pair are on the run through the streets if London.
The terrorists having dressed as police mean they have no idea just who they
can trust. Communicating with MI-6 they head for safety.
It turns out the terrorist in question behind this attack is
Barkawi who survived with two of his sons. Having suffered the loss of his
daughter he now plans to take his revenge on the rest of the world and in
particular President Asher. His demands are simple: hand over the President for
public execution.
Of course those members of the President’s cabinet left
alive don’t agree and the hunt is on. With each turn they take though Asher and
Banning find more and more that those who they have trusted with their lives
should not have been as each location they make it to seem to have more
terrorists. On their own they continue on with the intent of remaining alive
and ending the attack.
Once more there is a lot of plot holes that need filling,
some incredibly hard to believe moments and items that fact checker made issue
of on blogs all over the internet when the film came out. But you know what? It
doesn’t matter. Those who loved the first film did so because they wanted to go
to the movies for 2 hours and find some mindless film that provided plenty of
action and a chance to root for the good guys. Those people won’t be
disappointed with this film just as they weren’t with the first.
Butler continues to shine in an action role offering acting
chops combined with enough stunt skill to pull off his character. This time
around Eckhart gets the opportunity to get involved in some of the action as
well while providing a patriotic character we can root for. Working together
you have no doubt that the pair will survive and that heads will roll.
The special effects team on this movie are astounding. To
watch as numerous tourists locations in London fall is heart stopping, just as
the fall of the White House in the first film was. In a world where we see an
increase in the number of bombings taking place by groups like ISIS thoughts
that something like this could happen have shifted from it can’t happen to when
will it happen. This group gives you the opportunity to see what it would be
like.
On the whole
the movie isn’t quite as good as the first one but then again that sense of
surprise you get when viewing a first film in a series of two or more is gone.
The idea carries on with attacks on well-known sites being hit by terrorists.
As I said this has gained more traction as a possible reality in recent years
than it would have say pre-9/11. What makes these movies nice though is that
they portray the President and the Secret Service in a positive light that any
and everyone can get behind. It would be nice to see more movies with that
tone.
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