Directed by: Babak Najafi
Starring: Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Melissa Leo, Robert Forster, Angela Bassett
As a sequel to blockbuster action film Olympus Has Fallen, there’s little to be left to the imagination before watching London Has Fallen.
While in the 2013 original, North Koreans invade the White House in an attempt to abduct the President (Aaron Eckhart); in this sequel-cross-remake, Pakistani men take the role of terrorists in attempting to abduct the President.
Its attempt at originality is most concerning, with Gerald Butler playing the same security agent who saved the President in the origin film, just now on a bigger scale in a foreign city.
Ultimately what comes of the film is a vomit-worthy stew of xenophobia, over the top action and corny dialogue. (There’s actually a part where Butler tells the terrorists to go back to “Fuckheadistan”).
There’s any wonder that audiences are still interested in this kind of thing. Indeed while Liam Neeson seemed to have done well from the Taken series, the same can’t be said here, with the sequel lacking the thrill of an actual good action film.
So many questions linger with casting – I have no idea why Morgan Freeman, Melissa Leo, Robert Forster and Jackie Earle Haley decided to sign on, particularly considering how small and insignificant their roles are within the train wreck film.
While many viewers may be interested in the destruction of an over CGI-ed London, there’s nothing else here but a time filler that feels like it was written by Donald Trump and a military fanatic from the basement of his parent’s house.
Unless you think you like the sound of it, you won’t be missing anything by giving it a miss.
Eden Caceda 