London Has Fallen

I love to travel, especially outside of Sweden to different cities and different countries. So far i have been in 15 countries, and there are more countries i would love to visit. I was supposed to go Paris last year, just at the time of Paris Attacks. Of course we did not go, even if we lost all the money we paid for the trip. But it was better to stay safe, knowing that we were secure. Terrorist organizations are active worldwide, killing innocent people. We all wish they would all be stopped, and we could live in a world of harmony. Unfortunately, it seems that more terrorist attacks will just continue to go on. One important detail, is not to let these terrorists stop us from living life, and enjoying time with friends and family. We need to keep ordinary day life going as usual. When it comes to motion pictures, that takes on the subject of terrorist attacks. Some are based on true stories, some are made in a typical american patriotic was. Either way, this kind of genre does include some highlights, and i have some good classic titles to recommend. How about Delta Force with Chuck Norris and Lee Marvin ? Or perhaps Executive Decision with Kurt Russel ? I also enjoyed Steven Spielberg´s film Munich, that was based on real events. One of the most interesting films, taking on a very serious subject, is the film Zero Dark Thirty. This film is based on te real chase after al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. The director of this film, is Kathryn Bigelow. Her way of telling a story, proved to be very effective, and she also had a really good cast to support this emotional film. I would probably say that this is one of the best films, that manage to show 2 different sides of a war. Ever since 9/11, America have been talking about terrorist threats, and it is not hard to understand why. Terrorists are attacking all over the world, and that day changed the whole country. In 2013, we had 2 films released about terrorists attacking The White House. One of these films is called White House Down, and the other one is Olympus Has Fallen. Both films were filled with lots of action, and obviously targeted the problem with terrorism. Olympus Has Fallen was dumb, but fun from an entertaining perspective. Gerard Butler kicking ass in The White House, and Aaron Eckhart as The President Of The United States Of America, turned out to be a fun combination. This was of course a film that was dumb from the start, but if you look at the film as a popcorn film, you might see why it has some value. Director Antoine Fuqua may not be a fantastic director, but he clearly knew what he wanted to give the audience. So after hearing online that a sequel was going to be made, i was surprised. I actually did not think that there would be a sequel, but here is is. Is this film even better than the first film, or does it fall flat in the sequel traps, most sequels do ?

Pakistani arms dealer and terrorist leader Aamir Bakawi ( Alon Moni Aboutboul ), is discovered, and is known for terrorist attacks around the world. Western intelligence services locate Aamir´s compound, and the United States launch an attack against Aaimr. At a family wedding, where Aamir is celebrating, the US Army attack, killing most of his family members, but Aamir survives. 2 years later, Mike Banning ( Gerard Butler ), is still working as an Secret Service Agent for President Benjamin Asher ( Aaron Eckhart ). Mike is about to become a father soon, and is very happy with his wife Leah Banning ( Radha Mitchell ). Suddenly, President Benjamin is told that British Prime Minister James Wilson have died, and the president must go to London to show his respect at the funeral. Mike was planning to quit his job, but realise that he have to go on this trip, to once again make sure the president is safe. To make sure everything is working correctly, Secret Service Director Lynne Jacobs ( Angela Bassett ) is doing her best while they plan the journey. Leaders from the whole world is on heir way to London, but some of them will not make it through, since Aamir is killing innocent people in London, making sure he is going to revenge the death of his family. Aamir´s terrorists are targeting President Benjamin as well, but Mike is making sure that no one will get close to him. The problem is, Aamir´s well planned terrorists attacks in London are making big problems in security, and Mike have to find a way to get the president into safety, no matter what he have to do.

I was one of those who did not hate Olympus Has Fallen when it came out. The main reason for that is it was a dumb fun action film. Some action films are not made to be intelligent, just made as pure action, for a popcorn night. Olympus Has Fallen did not have anything fresh, or an interesting plot. What made this film a fun time, was plain, simple action with lots of violence and bad dialogue. The acting was not on a top level either, but the cast of Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart and Morgan Freeman, worked on a simple level. So when i heard a sequel was going to be made, simply called London Has Fallen, i was not sure if a sequel would work. After having seen this sequel in a cinema, i was not very surprised. Since the first film managed to be a fun dumb action film, this sequel is trying to look more serious. Gerard Butler and Aaron Eckhart are both back, and that is a positive sign. But even if some action scenes look ok, you don´t feel the same popcorn entertainment from this sequel. Some scenes look good, and it is fun that this sequel is directed by Iranian-swedish director Babak Najafi. He directed the very popular Easy Money 2, with Joel Kinnaman. That film was actually good for being a swedish film. But with London Has Fallen, i think he might have taken on a project, too big for him. Once the terrorist attacks begin, you feel connections from the first film, but this is not as well made as the first film. The editing is also an issue. One example of one problem, is the motorcycle chase scene. It is supposed to look cool, and intensive. It simply looks pretty boring. It is more fun when Gerard Butler walks around, killing terrorists, and use his fighting skills. Aaron Eckhart is still good as the president of America, and he does have a few good scenes. Apart from this, and some smaller details, i can´t really see why this sequel was needed to be made. If director Babak Najafi would have used some more influences from the first film, and let the cast be more crazy, we might have had something fun here. Now, it is just a sequel, but not with much to offer. Not an awful sequel, just a boring one. I doubt there will be a third film, since the box office numbers are not very big. I suggest you see the first film instead. One thing is clear, you don´t mess with Gerard Butler who looks serious. And don´t forget, iron his shirt correctly, if you don´t, expect a knife in your head within 4 seconds.

Rating: DD