‘Angel Has Fallen’ Critics’ Review: More Parody Than Action Film

The film is the third instalment in the ‘Fallen’ film series.

The third instalment in the Fallen film series, action flick Angel Has Fallen follows the story of Secret Service agent Mike Banning who is taken into custody after a failed assassination attempt on the US president. He escapes and must evade the FBI and his own agency while he tries to uncover the truth, clear his name and save the president from an impending threat. The Ric Roman Waugh directorial stars Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman, Jada Pinkett Smith, Nick Nolte and Danny Huston.

Here’s what critics had to say about the film:

“With its over-the-top premise set in motion, ‘Angel Has Fallen’ – as in, the president’s guardian angel is out of commission – gets down to the business of asking us to suspend our disbelief in far less entertaining ways. If you want to know what bad preposterous looks like (or, to be generous, let’s call it mediocre preposterous), check out the scenes in which Mike reunites with his father, Clay Banning, a grizzled Vietnam veteran living off the grid in a West Virginia shack, like a cross between the Unabomber and the most cliché crazy war vet you’ve ever seen.” 

Owen Gleiberman, Variety

“’Angel Has Fallen’” appears to have aimed higher than its predecessors, both of which started in forehead-slapping territory and grew dumber with every twist. The Ric Roman Waugh-directed “Angel,” by contrast, is capital-T topical. It’s filled with references to painkiller dependency, Russian election tampering, private defence contractors and citizen militias, even as it avoids adhering to any viewpoint that might alienate potential audiences.”

Ben Kenigsberg, The New York Times

“Waugh’s background is as a stuntman, and he no doubt put a lot of his old cohorts to work on this one; bodies go flying every 20 minutes or so, as Banning at one point escapes in, of all things, a big rig, and you begin to think you’re bearing witness to the reincarnation of Hal Needham. It’s all utterly preposterous, and yet Waugh handles the big scenes pretty well, or at least well enough (and with sufficient self-aware humor) that you’re willing to go along with Banning’s mad attempt to elude the traitors and save the country from servitude to Russian-backed goons.”

Todd McCarthy, The Hollywood Reporter