London Has Fallen (2016)

The bodyguard who saved the White House in the previous film now guards the president in the heart of London. World leaders gathered for the British prime minister’s funeral all become targets of a terror attack at once, and the entire city is turned into a battlefield in an instant. There is almost no complicated explanation or deep reflection. When a crisis hits, you fight; when the road is blocked, you break through. That simplicity is at once this film’s limitation and its appeal. For viewers who want to empty their heads and enjoy action for its own sake, it delivers a clear rush.

What it’s about — Crossing a London turned into a trap

Secret Service agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) is the closest bodyguard who shadows U.S. President Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart). World leaders gather in London after the British prime minister’s sudden death, but it turns out to be an enormous trap. As the city collapses under simultaneous attacks and the other leaders are killed one by one, Banning takes the president and tries to escape through the heart of enemy territory. The pursuit is relentless, and the city is no longer a safe place. For 98 breathless minutes, the film follows the desperate struggle of these two men trying to break through hostile ground and survive.

Direction — A romp that chooses speed over plausibility

Babak Najafi drives the film fast and rough. After a quick setup of the character relationships at the start, the action barely lets up once the attack begins. The scenes of London’s iconic buildings collapsing have a fairly large scale, and the chases threading through narrow alleys and building interiors keep a lively sense of speed. In particular, the later urban combat sequence, which seems to unfold in one long continuous shot, captures the urgency of being dropped into the middle of a battlefield.

That said, this film has little interest in plausibility or intricately woven storytelling. Questions like how the attack was prepared so perfectly, or why the entire city’s defenses are so flimsy, are passed over without deep examination. The hero is nearly invincible, and the enemies fall endlessly. This simplicity is clearly a weakness, but given that the film never aimed for realism in the first place, it’s acceptable. There’s consistency in the way it stays faithful to a single goal of brisk pacing and satisfying action.

Performance — Butler filling it with presence, veteran actors wasted

Gerard Butler fits the role of Mike Banning perfectly. Armed with rough banter and a solid physique, he convincingly embodies the image of a bodyguard who keeps pushing forward without wavering even amid crisis. He’s the type to fill the screen with heavy presence rather than flashy emotional acting, and that suits the film’s simple tone well. The president played by Aaron Eckhart maintains his dignity even in crisis, and the rough jokes he trades with Banning convey the camaraderie between the two.

Veteran actors like Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, and Melissa Leo hold down the White House situation room. They don’t jump into the action themselves, but they steadily handle the role of watching the situation from off the front line and refreshing the tension. Still, their screen time and weight are not large compared to their reputations, so it’s a shame their talents aren’t fully used.

What the film says — A stubborn refusal to abandon the mission

This is not a film trying to convey a deep theme. If you must read one, it’s a story about the dogged steadfastness of one person who never abandons his mission no matter the crisis. Banning is not a flashy strategist but simply a man who never lets go of what he is sworn to protect to the very end. That simple sense of duty forms the film’s emotional axis. Instead of a complex message, it faithfully follows the skeleton of a classic heroic romp, running straight toward a clear good-versus-evil structure and the goal of mission completion.

Ratings and reception

The film holds an IMDb rating of 5.9, a Rotten Tomatoes freshness of 28 percent, and a Metacritic score of 28 out of 100. Critical reaction was harsh. The simple story, exaggerated premise, and shallow development were the main points of criticism. Interestingly, though, it performed at the box office on par with its predecessor, and among audiences there were no shortage of voices calling it action that’s easy to enjoy casually. It’s a film that clearly displays the temperature gap between critics and audiences.

Verdict

When it comes to artistic merit, this isn’t a film with much to praise. But not every film needs depth. This one focuses from start to finish on a single thing, action that smashes and runs with abandon, and it achieves that one goal clearly. It’s perfectly suited to throwing on casually and enjoying without any particular expectations. For its honest entertainment value and the momentum it sustains to the end, I give it ★4.0.

Recommended for

• Those looking for a simple action romp to enjoy with an empty head
• Those who like Gerard Butler’s rough action-hero image
• Those who enjoyed the previous film, Olympus Has Fallen