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The 80’s had Bruce Willis doing what he did best as John McClane so it’s only fitting that this generation have someone who could deliver one-liners with ferocious efficiency while mowing down bad guys with extreme prejudice. Arguably, Gerard Butler has given us the John McClane for a new age with his portrayal of Secret Service agent Mike Banning in the Has Fallen trilogy. Banning is all politically incorrect as he drops F bombs and baddies alike with pulverizing tenacity in all three movies with the last film, Angel Has Fallen, being a rousing and violent conclusion. That’s if we don’t get another entry in the future.
I know this is an older film, but I always said I would go back and revisit movies I was unable to review the first time around and with the release of Walmart’s exclusive 4K Steelbook, I figured it was time to relive this one and all its throwback vibes. First up, I’m going to review the movie itself and then I’m going to chat up the new release so sit back, crack open a cold, tasty beverage and let’s relive Mike Banning’s greatest moments from the third installment!
Now it’s obvious that the first movie, Olympus has Fallen was a big, budgeted take on Die Hard so it’s only fitting that Butler’s Mike Banning make his grand entrance in this style of one location action film. It featured Banning systematically eliminating White House invaders with cruel and tier one level skill leading up to a satisfying throwdown with the film’s main villain played with steely eyed bad guy bravado by Rick Yune of The Fast and the Furious. The second entry, London Has Fallen, raised the scope of the franchise by switching the action to the streets of London as terrorists hit a peace summit forcing Banning to go one man army once again. While this installment removed the Die Hard scenario for the most part, it did include it in the finale which I feel is the best action of the series although I’m in the minority on that one.
The Movie Review
We’re here to talk about the third piece of the franchise and while the plot borrows heavily from other films like The Fugitive and the much more maligned Taken 3 as Banning is framed for an assassination attempt on the new president played by series regular Morgan Freeman, it still is a worthy addition to the series with Banning doing Banning things throughout culminating in our hero initiating one man war machine mode once again as he takes out several operatives in the conclusion with immense firepower and blistering hand to hand prowess.
In this chapter, Banning is struggling to continue his duties as protector of the president as he is suffering from massive brain issues and insomnia from all his years of fighting leading to addiction to painkillers. This element lends a surprising human feel to the story as he hides his pain from those closest to him. It also shows us that Banning is indeed human as all the decades of taking out baddies has clearly left its mark on him. I have no problem seeing my heroes have flaws just as long as they are still able to do what they need to do and her Banning still rises to the occasion multiple times. This chapter is more serious in tone and it’s a shame that we get less one-line zingers from Banning like in the past but there are still a few here and there.
The supporting cast is top notch with the iconic Morgan Freeman returning and this time he is now president taking over for Aaron Eckhart who had other things to do like make movies where he acts like Mike Banning. Freeman always lends that sense of credit to a movie and every time he’s on screen, he delivers Oscar worthy moments. Piper Perabo takes over as Mike’s wife as I believe original star Radha Mitchell had scheduling issues as she was on the Prime series Jack Ryan with John Krasinski, but I had no problem with the switch as I’m a fan of Perabo and I felt she stepped in effortlessly in the role and was given much more to do.
The biggest and best addition to the third film is having the iconic Nick Nolte play Mike’s estranged and slightly off kilter father who is a conspiracy nut that has been living off the reservation for decades after walking out on Mike and his mother all those years ago. Nolte, like Freeman, immerses himself in any role and here he chews up his scenes and his chemistry with Butler is aces with their scenes together being some of the best in the movie. Their banter back and forth also makes for some of the funniest moments in the movie.
Danny Huston is another established actor and here he is on villain duties as Wade Jennings, one time friend and comrade of Mike’s who is now leader of a ruthless private military force who is looking to overthrow the government as he feels it has gotten too soft. The plot twist with Huston is severely anti-climactic but he still does an admirable job with the one-sided character, and he also plays well with Butler in their scenes together.
I will also state that this film features another solid supporting role from the late, great Lance Reddick who sadly passed away last year. Reddick plays David Gentry, and he lends his always on cue gravitas to all the sequences that he’s involved in. Reddick never phoned it in and gave his all to any role no matter how small. He will always be missed.
It is Jennings that frames Mike for the assassination attempt, and this was the biggest issue I had with the film as I thought that everyone around Mike turned on him rather decisively and without thought. I mean did you all watch the first two movies of this franchise? Clearly you didn’t because why would this man have gone through all that just to pull a 180 and go “Hey, maybe I should try to kill the president who also is one of my best friends in the whole wide world.” It’s just an easy and lazy way to propel the events and, of course, there wouldn’t have been a movie if this didn’t happen. I would have like a different and more original plot but alas that is rare in action films these days.
The action isn’t as heavy and bombastic in the first two/thirds of this movie as the budget was clearly scaled down, but we do still get an awesome drone attack in the beginning, a high-speed chase with Banning pummeling down the road in a semi and a rousing series of hell on earth explosions initiated by Papa Banning to satisfy until the finale when Banning goes into full on kill mode.
The conclusion is pure Mike Banning at his finest and it’s here where the Die Hard trope surfaces once again as our one-man army must fend off an assault by Jennings and his crew of ex-special operations warriors set in a hospital where Freeman’s President Trumball is recovering. This is where action fans get Banning at his brutal and ferocious best as he initiates beast mode to eradicate the army that has besieged the building. It’s a twenty minute plus nirvana of R rated violence featuring tracer fire, knife kills and, you guessed it, explosions. Butler showcases once again why he’s this generation’s John McClane and he is exciting to watch as he runs the bloody gauntlet.
4K Steelbook Review
If you’re a casual action cinema fan and already have Angel Has Fallen in your collection then I might say skip on this edition but if you’re a true hardcore cinephile of all things bang, bang and BOOM, then I say pick this one up as it contains a sleek, new Steelbook upgrade with hero worthy artwork and the 4K restoration is worth it alone when it’s played on the big screen in your living room. There are no newer special features however and the ones we do get were already part of the initial Blu-Ray release but that’s OK because they are still action worthy with several featurettes running around 10 minute each with can’t miss interviews and BTS footage that clearly shows all the blood, sweat and tears that are poured into making an action film.
The special features include the featurettes:
Even Angels Fall: The Story
Someone to Watch Over Me: New Blood
Calling All Angels: Casting
True Faith: Authenticity
Fight for You: Stunts and Action
Earth Angel: Recreating DC
Angel Declassified (3 scenes broken down with commentary by writer-director Ric Roman Waugh)
I’m personally a fan of the action and stunts BTS goodness as I love to see how the action design was created for any movie including the thoughts behind how the action should be presented and the choreography that was used. The 4K picture looks amazing on a home theater system and the sound is bombastic as well. The movie never looked better, and it definitely surpasses viewing it when it was in cinemas.
Overall, Angel has Fallen might be considered the weaker of the franchise, but I had a good time with it and Butler is on top of his game as the never say die action hero Mike Banning. The story has been used before but the cast more than make up for it and the action is there to satisfy anyone’s cinema bloodlust. It’s a shame that the next outing, tentatively titled Night Has Hallen, might never get made as there was a lawsuit between Butler and Lionsgate that might have cooled things down. It has sense been resolved but I feel this ship has sailed. We are also supposed to get a TV series but that even has gone quiet so who knows. If this is indeed the last chapter, then it was a fitting one with a great ending for the character of Mike Banning. The third entry is just as action packed as the first two with a hyper-kinetic finale featuring Banning at his kill mode best.
Mike Banning is this generation’s John McClane. I’ve uttered those words more than a few times during the last several years of my website and it’s unfortunate that Gerard Butler hasn’t revisited one of action cinema’s most ferocious characters in a long time.
Angel Has Fallen did wrap up Banning’s character arc satisfyingly reuniting with his estranged father played brilliantly by Nick Nolte but there’s always room for Big Mike to come out of retirement. After all, Brett Favre and Tom Brady have done it with the former doing it several times so why not one of the best action heroes we’ve seen in a long time?
The new Walmart 4K Steelboox exclusive is a worthy upgrade for the serious action cinema physical media collector offering stunning picture and sound to enjoy the carnage with. The special features are the same as the initial Blu-Ray release, but they still are insightful and fun to view as they take you behind the scenes on just how hard it is to make an action movie.
VERDICT: 4 Out of 5
Angel Has Fallen is a fitting and satisfying conclusion to the Has Fallen franchise with Gerard Butler at his war machine best as this generations’ ultimate action hero Mike Banning. The Walmart 4K Steelbbok edition is a fitting upgrade for you home movie arsenal with expert picture and sound to enjoy all the killing with.
