“London has Fallen” comes to Blu-ray Tuesday, June 14, as a refreshing political thriller.
It’s refreshing because it offers engaging characters and story and packs in as many chases, fights and action as you should want, all in an economical 90-minutes.
Action films of late have mushroomed to running times of about two-and-half hours, with about 45 minutes of over-indulgent and repetitive fight scenes and seemingly drawing to a logical ending two or three times before the credits finally begin to roll.
Without seeming rushed, the characters and their backstories are established only to the extent we should care, in due course the action ramps up (and includes the destruction of most major landmarks in London, intense hand-to-hand fights, and some well-choreographed vehicle chases through London streets impressively re-created in a studio in Bulgaria), plot complications develop, and the world is saved from an even worse crisis. Done.
Also refreshing about “London has Fallen” is the intentional throwback to old-school film-making in chase scenes uninterrupted by rapid-fire cuts and digitally-stylized film that adds unnecessary grain and color hues.
In fact, one very impressive scene on a narrow London street runs more than two minutes without a single cut as Presidential bodyguard Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) leads a small militia through a gauntlet of a hundred terrorists who are firing everything at them from bullets to rocket-propelled grenades.
All of this is explained and demonstrated by cast and crew in two bonus features on the Blu-ray, an enjoyable 14-minute making-of program, and a 7-minute featurette on the “Guns, Knives and explosives.”
The HD image and sound looks best when played from the Blu-ray ($19.96 in most cases) on a large screen TV. And that Blu-ray package from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment also includes a DVD version and a code to access and stream/download a digital HD version for any of your devices. It is also available on video-on-demand June 14.
And an offer included in the Blu-ray case also gets you a free digital movie with your registration to get e-mail updates from Universal.
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“Why don’t you boys pack up your shit and head back to FuckHeadistan or wherever it is you’re from,” taunts Banning over a cell phone to the leader of the ringleader behind a massive slaughter of the leaders of multiple countries attending the funeral of the Prime Minister of England.
Butler offers many intended James Bond-like witticisms along the way, most of which don’t have the desired impact, but some of which are mildly amusing, such as when he chides the President (Aaron Eckhart) for his poor driving skills: “The car’s bulletproof, not politician-proof.”
And the President’s own snide remark to the terrorists struggling with their electronics: “Technology – only as good as the dumbshits who are using it.”
It’s a bit of a relief and certainly satisfying to be able to enjoy this movie on its own merits without feeling like you missed something if you didn’t see its predecessor, “Olympus has Fallen.” Those who did see the original will be pleased to know that all the major stars are back for this one, and it’s an impressive cast that also includes Morgan Freeman and Angela Bassett, among many others.
But it’s surprising, sad, and a little disappointing to see one of the more prominent characters killed off here.
“London has Fallen” is the kind of movie you don’t want to analyze too deeply for plausibility, and it may not measure up to some of the most memorable movies of this genre, but it’s better than many others and a fun and refreshing type of 90-minute thrill ride that is worth the price of access, be it Blu-ray, DVD, digital HD download, or VOD.
— By Scott Hettrick