Angel Has Fallen

The third installment in this franchise starring Gerard Butler as gruff Secret Service agent Mike Banning is partially saved by Nick Nolte’s performance as Clay, Banning’s estranged Vietnam vet father. Three years after London Has Fallen, Banning could be promoted to director of the Secret Service under U.S. President Allan Trumbull (Morgan Freeman). Considering his dependency on painkillers and devotion to his wife (Piper Perabo) and toddler daughter, however, Banning isn’t sure he wants the desk job. When lethal drones with face-recognition software target the President on a fishing trip, leaving him in a coma, Banning is the only survivor on his security detail. The suspicion of FBI agents Thompson (Jada Pinkett Smith) and Ramirez (Joseph Millson) falls on Banning, who is subsequently arrested for the assassination attempt. Escaping from custody, Banning is determined to uncover the truth and clear his name, which forces him to deal with mercenaries employed by Salient, a Blackwater-like contractor firm that is headed up by Banning’s scheming Iraq war buddy, Wade Jennings (Danny Huston). When Banning goes off-the-grid, he winds up with his gun-toting, geezer father in the woods of West Virginia: scruffy survivalist Clay, who is so paranoid that he’s booby-trapped the surrounding forest to fatally deter unwanted visitors. Also featuring Tim Blake Nelson as the Vice President, this is a fast-paced action film from director and former stuntman Ric Roman Waugh. Unfortunately, the predictable plot is not only implausible but often straight-out incoherent. Optional. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include the behind-the-scenes featurettes “Calling All Angels: Casting” (18 min.), “Someone to Watch Over Me: New Blood” (13 min.), “True Faith: Authenticity” (13 min.), “Fight for You: Stunts and Action” (10 min.), “Earth Angel: Recreating DC” (7 min.), and “Even Heroes Fall: The Story” (9 min.), as well as three “Angel Declassified” scenes with commentary by writer-director Ric Roman Waugh (9 min.). Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are bonus DVD and digital copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an underwhelming thriller.] (S. Granger)