{"id":18958,"date":"2019-08-22T17:39:07","date_gmt":"2019-08-23T00:39:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=18958"},"modified":"2019-08-22T17:39:07","modified_gmt":"2019-08-23T00:39:07","slug":"angel-has-fallen-is-another-unnecessary-sequel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=18958","title":{"rendered":"ANGEL HAS FALLEN is Another Unnecessary Sequel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/24_0005_C-merged311.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1130\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I&#8217;m not sure that anyone was pining for a sequel to the\naction pictures <em>Olympus Has Fallen<\/em> and <em>London Has Fallen<\/em>, but\naudiences are getting a third one. This reviewer was especially uncomfortable\nwith another follow-up, especially considering how much I detested the previous\nentry for being mean-spirited and possessing a xenophobic streak. Thankfully, <em>Angel\nHas Fallen<\/em> is an improvement over the prior chapter. Yet, while it fulfils\nits duties as a serviceable action flick, the story presented is still pretty\ndopey and there is nothing especially memorable about it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Angel-Has-Fallen-Angel-Pres-White-House-1024x636.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18960\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The events of the previous film have left Secret Service\nAgent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) woozy and hiding the aftereffects of\nnumerous concussions from his employers and the President (Morgan Freeman).\nAfter receiving a visit from old friend and private military contractor Wade\nJennings (Danny Huston) the two share their concerns about the future. Not long\nafter, an elaborate assassination attempt is made on the President, leaving him\nin a coma. When Banning awakes, he learns that FBI agent Helen Thompson (Jada\nPinkett Smith) has found evidence setting him up for the crime. Banning manages\nto break free from his bonds and sets out to prove his innocence, doing his\nbest to avoid both government agents and assassins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Angel-Has-Fallen-Angel-with-Huston-1024x616.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18961\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One element that is an improvement is the battered and\nbruised state of Banning. He&#8217;s clearly not at his best physically in this\ninstallment and having the lead in a weakened state and on the run adds a\nlittle more drama to the proceedings. It also makes the hero more sympathetic\nthan in the previous chapter. Unfortunately, when he&#8217;s faced with countless\nthreats up close and personal, he still manages to beat the stuffing out of\nthem with little resistance. An appearance by Nick Nolte as Banning&#8217;s estranged\nfather in the second half of the picture also adds some levity as the recluse\ndetonates a ridiculous number of explosives on his property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Angel-Has-Fallen-Angel-Driving-Boat-1024x566.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18962\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As for the physical conflicts, the stunts and fight moves\nare well presented and pieced together. Sadly, the photography has a muted and\nwashed-out appearance. While the persistent dull blue-tinge may help\ncommunicate the emotional state of the hero and the grimness of the situation,\nit isn&#8217;t particularly interesting to look at. In fact, as action scene after\naction scene unfolds and the body count rises to sillier and sillier heights,\nit all begins to blur together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Angel-Has-Fallen-Angel-FBI-team-1024x605.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18963\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The story logic also leaves something to be desired. Many\nspeeches are corny, the villains certainly lack any subtlety and it becomes increasingly\nabsurd that the FBI can&#8217;t figure out the identities of the bad guys. It all\nends in another series of explosions and even a collapsing building. While\nentertaining to watch on a certain level, there aren&#8217;t a lot of thrills\ninvolved. It&#8217;s all clearly preposterous and the final shootout between the hero\nand antagonist on a rooftop (which involves two men firing automatic weapons at\neach other at close range) looks almost comical. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Personally, I am relieved that some of the uglier elements\nof the last installment have been cast away. It&#8217;s impossible to take this\neffort seriously for even a second. However, little of what is displayed is exiting\nor in any way memorable. <em>Angel Has Fallen<\/em> serves its purpose for action\nfilm fans needing a quick fix but isn&#8217;t really necessary and won&#8217;t linger in\nthe mind more than a minute or two after leaving the theater. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I&#8217;m not sure that anyone was pining for a sequel to the action pictures Olympus Has Fallen and London Has Fallen, but audiences are getting a third one. This reviewer was especially uncomfortable with another follow-up, especially considering how much I detested the previous entry for being mean-spirited and possessing a xenophobic streak. Thankfully, Angel [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":18959,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[197,697,1417,1418,1419,1420,5177,8213,10161,12580,14238,15357,18035,18055,23276],"class_list":["post-18958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-197","tag-action","tag-angel-has-fallen","tag-angel-has-fallen-film-review","tag-angel-has-fallen-movie-review","tag-angel-has-fallen-review","tag-danny-huston","tag-gerard-butler","tag-jada-pinkett-smith","tag-london-has-fallen","tag-morgan-freeman","tag-olympus-has-fallen","tag-sequel","tag-series","tag-trilogy"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18958"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18958\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}