Nick Nolte and Intense Action Best Thing About Angel Has Fallen

Secret Service Agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) has some issues.  He’s contemplating whether to take The President up on his offer for a promotion or to lay low until retirement.  Unfortunately, the choice is made for him after a failed assassination attempt is made on President Trumball (Morgan Freeman) and later it is assumed that Banning was the mastermind behind it all.

This premise is pretty much the centerpiece of the film and it never wavers too far from the plot except to show us Banning’s estranged relationship with his Dad (Nick Nolte) while on the run to clear his name.  There is enough action to make up for every action movie for the rest of 2019.  Unfortunately, it’s not enough to save an Angel Has Fallen from being too thin on plot and all cylinders loaded with action scenes ranging from training exercise to tarmac gun fights to blowing and shooting up a hospital facility.

Nick Nolte kinda saves the day.  His performance is so layered and heartfelt mixed with a splash of humor that ones forgets he was once one of Hollywood’s hot leading actors back in day.  However, I’m kinda digging the deshelved Dad because only Nick Nolte could make you care about whether or not this character lives or dies.

Jada Pinkett Smith does a nice job, but her presence doesn’t really add anything to the story.  She’s just another pretty, stern version of a hard-nose law enforcement official with no sense of humor or personality.  A stigma that always plagues women of color in these types of roles.  Love Jada, but I have to call a spade a spade.  The same could be said for Lance Riddick.  Love him, but his character suffers the same fate as Smith.

Whoever the little baby was that played Gerard Butler’s daughter was fan-freakingtastic!!  Either she is the baby version of Meryl Streep or she was having an intense moment that just happened to captured on film.

Overall, Angel Has Fallen literally won’t be getting up any time soon.  If you love the aforementioned actors or some intense acton-adventure or the statement being made about what happens when our government colludes with Russia, you’ll have a great movie screening experience.  If you are expecting something profoundly deep and dramatic this may not be the flick for you when it hits theaters on August 23.