I'm not really an action movie person. So naturally, in 2013 I opted to watch White House Down instead of Olympus Has Fallen, one had eye candy and one didn't. #Channing LOL But when I realized Morgan Freeman and Angela Bassett were in London Has Fallen, I decided to step out of my comfort zone and support Black actors in action films. So I rented Olympus Has Fallen on Amazon and secured passes to see London Has Fallen.
It was your typical action film sequel. Lots of shooting. Lots of explosions. And in this series...lots of stabbing. I was squirming in my seat quite a bit. O and don't forget the ton of instances where the main characters survive the very thing that killed everyone else in the scene. And if you're a parent, please don't be like some of the irresponsible parents at the screening I attended. Leave the kids at home, this is not for them!
Outside of the kill all the western world leaders and try to capture the U.S. president while destroying London part, it seemed to be the typical action film story line told now of days. On top of that, I don't know if it's because I love movies and watch a lot of them or what, but it was also pretty predictable. I mean, we all know Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) would survive, in fact the ending suggests there will be a third part to the series. What will fall next? LOL. Beyond that though, I knew who the mole was as soon as he came on screen early in the film. And [SPOILER ALERT] I knew the moment Lynne Jacobs (Angela Bassett) was a goner. Yep, they killed her off. I felt it coming, but I could imagine many people didn't see it coming. So I suppose Bassett won't be in the next sequel. Though she didn't make it through the whole movie, as expected, Bassett did a wonderful job. As did Morgan Freeman, whose character has been promoted from Speaker of the House/Acting President to Vice President of the United States/Acting President. Will he continue to move up the ladder and be POTUS in the next one? I mean, in both films he was the acting President, though giving orders in a safe location is quite different from being the target of terrorists. So maybe not...
Overall, for an action film, it was pretty good...if you're grading it on violence. Plot was meh, but it is an action film. So can't take away too many points for lacking a stellar story line, that's not why you go see action films. At the end of the day, I'll support it just for the mere fact that it has African-American actors playing central roles that are universal and could be played by anyone. Though she's gone now, I love that Angela Bassett, as a Black woman, played the director of the secret service. How often do you see that? So go out and support it (if you can muster the stabbings, shots to the head, gunfire, and loud explosions).