Gerard Butler's film series as Mike Butler, Secret Service Agent wraps up in crowd pleasing style with this year's ANGEL HAS FALLEN.
While critics deride the series, audiences love the films and I'm there with them, eating up the increasingly rare macho bravado and jaw dropping action.
In what appears to be the last film of the series, we see Mike Banning dealing with aging and the realization that he's getting a bit long in the tooth for his role. Butler is self effacing and effective, remaining true to his duty to protect President Trumbull (Morgan Freeman, reliably great & believable).
When a wide reaching assassination plot takes place, nearly killing Trumbull, Mike is framed as the man behind the coup.
Danny Huston (Wolverine, The Aviator) is the head of a major arms manufacturer, Tim Blake Nelson (O Brother Where Art Thou) dials up his quirky to 11 as an opportunistic Vice President and Jada Pinkett Smith is Butler's worst nightmare as the agent in charge of the investigation.
The movie morphs into "The Fugitive" mashed up with "In The Line of Fire" but its fast moving, loaded with great action scenes and Butler's drive for redemption at its core.
The biggest weakness (and it's NOT a minor flaw) is that the real bad guys are easier to figure out than a "Murder She Wrote" episode, but by now, we come to these films to watch Butler kick ass and put the evil-doers in their place and on that score, ANGEL HAS FALLEN delivers repeatedly.
The film's secret weapon is Nick Nolte as Banning's off-the-grid father. Nolte brings mystery and hilarity is large doses. He makes Rambo's home defenses look like a chain link fence.
There is no better aging, on-screen duo than Butler and Freeman waving a patriotic action flag and putting the bad guys in their place. Redemption is a lot of fun to watch when it's done well.
ANGEL HAS FALLEN is an enjoyable, pure-popcorn finale to the series and gets a B.
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