Stakes Are High in Over-The-Top Sequel ‘London Has Fallen’

Sandra Miska

In “London Has Fallen,” the sequel to the 2013 White House action thriller “Olympus Has Fallen,” Secret Service Agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) is back and in a good place. He’s still assigned to President Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart) and their bromance is stronger than ever. However, the imminent birth of Banning’s first child with his wife Leah (Radha Mitchell) has caused his priorities to shift.

Banning is literally in the middle of typing up his letter of resignation when he receives a phone call informing him that he must accompany Asher to the funeral of the British Prime Minister who has just died unexpectedly in his sleep of an apparent heart attack. Agent Banning reluctantly prepares for the trip to London with Asher and Secret Service Director Lynne Jacobs (Angela Bassett) while Vice President Allan Trumbull (Morgan Freeman) and the rest of Cabinet hold down the fort in D.C.

As is the case when a major head of state dies, all the leaders of the Western world are expected to attend and the British government takes every precaution to insure everyone’s safety. As one can probably predict, things don’t go exactly as planned and almost immediately after Banning, Asher and Jacobs arrive, a massive terrorist attack begins resulting in the destruction of several major London landmarks, plus the loss of countless lives, including five world leaders.

London goes into lockdown and although Banning and Asher have managed to come out of the ambush alive, they must rely on their wits to stay that way, as hundred of terrorists have infiltrated the city, many disguised as police officers. Banning reaches out to British M16 agent Jacquelin Marshall with whom he has some sort of past with, and she seems to help him more out of a sense of duty than any sort of sentimental reason.

While the terrorists in “Olympus Has Fallen” were North Korean, this time around they’re standard Middle Eastern evildoers. Head bad guy Aamir Barkawi (Alon Aboutboul) is motivated not by religion but by greed and vengeance. He’s tucked away in Yemen while his equally wicked son Kamran (Waleed Zuaiter) calls the shots in London.

The stakes for the good guys are raised dramatically after the terrorists kidnap the president and announce their plans to the world to execute him live on the Internet. Banning has a hard deadline of 8 p.m. to save his boss or else. Back at the White House, Trumbull and his team including Defense Secretary Ruth McMillan (Melissa Leo) and Deputy Chief Mason stay connected and do what they can.

For a film that involves terrorism, “London Has Fallen” is loads of fun. Some of the over-the-top action causes unintentional laughter as does the cheesy dialogue. “Go get those f*ckers,” is one character’s last words before she takes her final breath. Like Liam Neeson in “Taken,” Butler takes no prisoners as he effortlessly eliminates bad guy after bad guy.

The film addresses American war crimes,but doesn’t really offer solutions. At one point, Banning refers to the terrorists’ home country as “F*ckheadistan.” Needless to say, it’s a check-your-brain-at-the-door kind of movie.

“London Has Fallen” opens nationwide March 4.