Assaut sur Londres

Cannon Films presents The President's Man... I mean, Delta Force... no, not that either... London Has Fallen! A film in which Gerard Butler interrogates a hostage by stabbing him with a quarter-yard knife until he learns what he needs. In which the terrorists anticipate the Italian Prime Minister treating himself to a thirty-years-younger model atop Westminster, so they blow up the entire tower of the building just in case. A film where twenty super-equipped SAS soldiers tell a battered Butler running around in his shirt "Lead the way!". A work where most of the budget went on the quantity of special effects, not their quality. Where the protagonist kills 800 people with a gun and a knife and returns to his wife in dutiful labor. A film where Merkel breaks strict security measures to accept a flower from a snotty little girl, whereupon she is shot to pieces. In short, cathartic cinematic idiocy in the vein of the best of the 90s, after which I'll look back fondly on Avengers 35 from my old age. (2016-07-28)

Solid sequel. London Has Fallen has a very dynamic and intense pace, where you breathe in at the beginning and out at the end. The attack on London itself is very stylish and destructive, and I was pleasantly surprised that anyone from a burger vendor to an ambulance driver can be a terrorist. At times I was bothered by the CGI in some of the explosions, but it's all saved by the uncompromising Gerard Butler, who is in such form that he takes out an entire Delta Force unit single-handedly and knifes the terrorists in a stealthy “Splinter Cell”-like rendition, all of which I could only marvel at, with clear camerawork, a perfect soundtrack and almost no editing. At times, you'll be delighted by the smile-inducing quips from Butler's mouth or the emotional scenes packed with tension that will bring a tear to your eye. As far as American patriotism is concerned, it is of course in great excess here and I am probably one of the few who doesn't mind, on the contrary!! The perfect entertaining Yummy. 80%. (2016-04-09)

Similar to the first one, except that Olympus Has Fallen was shot by a proven action director and the second one by no-name Babak Najafi, though it should be noted that he certainly didn't disgrace himself. Admittedly, the visuals are weaker, which clearly indicates that the budget wasn't the biggest and the director probably wasn't that trusted, but the ensemble cast handles it well and it doesn't take itself nearly as seriously as the first installment or even Air Force One. Harrison Ford was a more believable president than Aaron Eckhart, of course, but the banter between the main tandem is OK, and as long as you doesn't look for anything there, don't worry about realism, and don't get carried away by the decent action (the last big, approximately five-minute steadicam shootout with no cuts is great), it's impossible not to enjoy it in a fairly decent way. Plus, the subject of international terrorism is again more topical than ever. (2016-06-05)

A film that satisfies the viewer by making the main character give the terrorists not one, but at least four fierce stab wounds. Mentally, London Has Fallen is at the level of Fast & Furious, but without its sense of fun. The CGI, which is important for the film’s target audience, is only average. The movie is barely kept afloat by Gerard Butler’s charisma and a spectacular one-shot shootout just before the climax. (2016-04-11)

For the whole time I was watching this crazy movie I was wondering what it would be like if the main character was played by, for example, Steven Segal instead of Gerard Butler. And you know what? I might have liked it more. With this cast London Has Fallen isatotal crazy trip which actors like Butler, Freeman or Eckhart don’t deserve. The director is devastating London, nothing makes sense, there is shooting everywhere. And you don’t want that in an action movie with this kind of actors. (2019-09-02)