Much like its two predecessors, “Angel Has Fallen” – the third film in the “Fallen” trilogy – is a fun homage to the silly pseudo-political action films of the 1990’s, and it’s pretty good at being just that. It’s riddled with action movie cliches from beginning to end, and the plot is nothing short of predictable and routine, but this film, unlike some, is completely aware of that and relishes in it, making for a pretty fun time at the movies, which is exactly what the film is trying to give you. 

       There’s nothing particularly inspired about Ric Roman Waugh’s direction here, but he gets the job done. This is certainly a step up from his last action film, “Snitch” however, as at least this time around he seems to have a better grasp on how to film fluent action sequences. Rather than taking the “bigger is better” approach that most action sequels do, Waugh’s film takes a smaller, more personal approach to its action sequences, and it’s quite refreshing to see. 

       Gerard Butler’s Mike Banning, the hardcore secret service agent with a heart of gold, is once again a lot of fun to follow, and Butler’s chemistry with his co-stars, particularly Nick Nolte, is pretty solid and lends to some nice comedic levity throughout. It’s a fairly standard action movie on the surface, and there isn’t too much under the skin, but much like the first two films, “Angel Has Fallen” captures the spirit of those silly 90’s action movies quite effectively, and is a lot of fun to watch. The dialogue isn’t the best, the plot is cliche, but the film realizes that and doesn’t try to be anything it’s not. It’s a fun way to close out this fairly lackluster summer for action movies.

GRADE – 3.5/5