London Has Fallen Review
“Go back to Fuckheadistan or wherever you’re from” declares Secret Service agent Mike Banning, in possibly the most racist film of 2016.
The second film in the Olympus Has Fallen film series, London Has Fallen was released in March 2016. Due to the film’s topical relevance to recent events, the release date was postponed last year as it coincided with the horrific Paris attacks.
The film, directed by Babak Najafi, tells the story of Banning (Gerard Butler) who is protecting the US President (Aaron Eckhart) after six of the world’s most powerful leaders are killed in a terrorist attack at the funeral of the British Prime Minster. The mastermind of the attack is arms dealer and terrorist leader Aamir Barkawi (Alon Moni Aboutboul), who does this for revenge after the US dropped a bomb killing most of his family. Banning and the president fight relentlessly to escape the terrorists and bring them down, with the assistance of the US Vice President Alan Trumbull (Morgan Freeman) and M16 agent (Charlotte Riley).
This thriller is action packed with well-choreographed fight scenes, aided by some much needed comedic relief. Sadly, these are the only positives. The film negatively plays upon stereotypes, with the depiction of world leaders being overtly realistic. The film seems to play upon the xenophobic notion of “us verse them”, which in turn inadvertently promotes anti- Muslim sentiment. As Islamophobia is a serious issue in society, the use of it in this movie is far from reputable.
The film is highly predictable, following a plot similar to its predecessor with the only difference being the setting.
London Has Fallen is a perfect film for those who enjoy their over-the top action-thriller flicks that aren’t good for much else, with the brutal fights scenes and non-stop violence proving rather entertaining.
Overall, the racist themes and tedious plot line makes for a dull movie.
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