Known in the US as The Fallen Series, in 2019 we are presented with the next sequel to Mike Banning's adventures as the US President's security forces, entitled Angel Has Fallen. The Fallen Series was created by writer duo Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt. The title Angel has Fallen was given because in this film the focus of the story is on Banning who is framed as the mastermind of the assassination attempt on the US President. Banning is considered a symbol of the guardian angel of the US President, but this time the angel suffered a slump and changed his status to become the most wanted criminal in the US. For this third film, Gerard Butler also acts as producer, Ric Roman Waugh sits on the director's chair as well as the scriptwriting team.
In Angel Has Fallen, Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) continues his duties as a member of the US Paspampres troops where this time Allan Trumbull (Morgan Freeman) has become President after serving as Vice President in the previous film. Once on a fishing trip, Banning discovers that the president is under threat from an attack by drones equipped with explosive devices. This drone herd was apparently already equipped with facial recognition for all Paspampres members so that one by one Banning's colleagues were killed by the deadly drone. Banning swiftly rescued President Allan by diving into the water before the two finally lost consciousness. Arriving at the hospital, it turned out that President Allan was in a coma while Banning was convicted of being the mastermind behind the attempted assassination of the President due to the evidence that cornered Banning as the suspect guilty. On his way to prison, Banning managed to escape and became the most wanted fugitive in the entire US. Urged by the situation of being chased by the FBI and his team, Banning must try to recover his rising name as well as find the real mastermind who framed him.
You could say there is nothing special in the sequel to Mike Banning's adventure this time, everything is predictable and typical action movie clichés. From the beginning of the film the clues are clear that Banning will be betrayed by whom, namely his wartime best friend Wade Jennings (Danny Huston). The first part of this film gives more portion to give us the development of Banning's character about the life of his small family, his wife who always understands Banning even though Banning is always extraordinarily busy then the next part we are immediately presented to the core of the story which focuses on Banning's actions as an action hero who this time This must save him, the president, from the mysterious evil mastermind who has also framed him.
The best part of this film is probably when Banning meets his father Carl (Nick Nolte) as the last hope and their interesting dynamics could have been maximized. The action scenes in this film look bombastic but sometimes they don't make sense like how could a member of the Banning team who was hit by a huge explosion from a drone attack, his body could remain intact and not be destroyed by the explosion. Likewise the troops Jennings sent when bombarded by Carl's bomb minefield, their bodies only looked bloody and dirty on the ground. The presence of a new character in the story, this time Jada Pinket Smith (wife of Will Smith) as an FBI agent, not maximized even though the introduction of this character is convincing and makes the audience think that his role in the film will be important either by allying with Banning or helping him in some other way. The level of suspense and mystery of the film's story this time is also quite ordinary and tends to be easily forgotten. However, the closing action of this film, which focuses on saving the president in the hospital, is quite neat and calculating.
The character in the film that is quite interesting is Nick Nolte, a senior actor who plays Carl's father who displays a character full of inner conflicts and experiences post-war trauma. Gerard Butler continues to play Banning's character but without significant development in this third film, it is told that he is experiencing a personal conflict between the headaches he experiences due to a high-risk job and whether he prefers work over a quiet life with his family. The conflict exists but we as spectators will not see the depth of the conflict. Piper Perabo this time appeared to replace Radha Mitchell as Leah, Mike's wife.
Piper comes across as an understanding wife who always supports her husband and loves their daughter very much, nothing special but not disappointing either. While Jada Pinket Smith has actually been very good and convincing as a smart and tough Thompson agent, for some reason her role is only like that in this film's story. From the side of the antagonist, Danny Huston as Wade is less convincing because his motivation seems far-fetched and has no depth of character at all. Morgan Freeman appears charismatic As president of the United States after being promoted from vice president of the United States even though he should have been given more screen time about how dynamic he is after serving as president of the United States.
Danny Huston as Wade is less convincing because his motivation seems far-fetched and has no depth of character at all. Morgan Freeman appears charismatic As president of the United States after being promoted from vice president of the United States even though he should have been given more screen time about how dynamic he is after serving as president of the United States. Danny Huston as Wade is less convincing because his motivation seems far-fetched and has no depth of character at all. Morgan Freeman appears charismatic As president of the United States after being promoted from vice president of the United States even though he should have been given more screen time about how dynamic he is after serving as president of the United States.
Ric as a director also tries to raise the issue of trauma caused by war both psychologically and physically but only touches the surface, as well as the US-Russia conflict which tends to be somewhat forced to change the subject after the previous film used North Korea and Pakistan. Ric also borrows a formula from the film The Fugitive, which is very pronounced when Banning runs away but without any new innovations, this scene feels boring and generic. However, there is a new experience when watching this film, namely the presence of a mid-credit scene which is a little strange but entertaining. The Fallen Series saga exists because the audience is happy with the action of rescuing important characters between super critical situations and full of threats that can be accepted by logic and interesting stories, but the more the sequels of this film are often made, the more logical elements are put aside as well as the quality of the story. It's time for studios and storytellers to focus on something else instead of involving Mike Banning in another senseless and forgotten adventure.
