The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

You are not really hungry, but you open the fridge anyway and there it is, a two-day-old leftover takeout. You know you should throw it away, yet you eat it anyway. The filmmakers of Angel Has Fallen probably knew this wasn’t a good idea yet they went for it anyway.

Angel Has Fallen is the third film in its franchise, following London Has Fallen and Olympus Has Fallen. The feature follows secret service agent, Mike Banning (Gerard Butler), who is on his way to a new promotion as Director of the Secret Service, when the president (Morgan Freeman) is attacked, and Banning is framed as the perpetrator behind the incident. Now Banning has find a way to clear his name, find out who is behind the attack, and save the president before the conspirators come back to finish the job.

The plot is nothing new and you will probably know how the film is going to go from the first ten minutes, including what could have been a plot twist -at least for Banning- but miserably failed. The film has also stepped away from the constant asset protection in the previous films, only to employ that at the very end.

Instead, the film relies on the previously earned admiration of Mike Banning, and the supposedly captivating action. However, Banning’s character is very different in this film, with a much more serious persona, and almost none of his sarcastic vulgar comedy that used to offer some relief. Aside from the very offensive and derogatory jokes that were thrown in, it was a shadow of a character that is seriously losing its charisma, especially after the not-so-successful sequel London Has Fallen.

The action is not spectacular at any point throughout the feature and, at times, neither comprehensible, nor funny. Lacking innovation, there weren’t any scenes that would be memorable enough for audiences to recall after the film is over.

For the acting, Gerard Butler is plausible as Mike Banning, but neither offers the witty humor that he excels in, nor does he delve deep into the character’s suffering and why he is the way he is. Instead, Butler is just an action machine. Morgan Freeman is the president, boss, and friend  that everyone wishes to have in an unrealistic yet delightful performance. Playing the “surprise” bad guy, Danny Huston has evil written all over him, but is not convincing as a good guy gone bad.

Fans of the franchise will watch Angel Has Fallen, but might be in for a disappointment that is even greater than the one they endured watching London Has Fallen.