London Has Fallen

London Has Fallen is a 2016 American action thriller film directed by Babak Najafi and written by Creighton Rothenberger, Katrin Benedikt, Chad St. John and Christian Gudegast. It is a sequel to Antoine Fuqua's 2013 film Olympus Has Fallen and stars Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart and Morgan Freeman, with Alon Moni Aboutboul, Angela Bassett, Robert Forster, Jackie Earle Haley, Melissa Leo, Radha Mitchell, Sean O'Bryan, Waleed Zuaiter and Charlotte Riley in supporting roles. It is the second installment in the Fallen film series. The film follows a plot to assassinate the world leaders of the G7 as they attend the British Prime Minister's funeral in London, and Secret Service agent Mike Banning's efforts to protect US President Benjamin Asher from being killed by the terrorists.

London Has Fallen
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBabak Najafi
Produced by
  • Gerard Butler
  • Alan Siegel
  • Mark Gill
  • John Thompson
  • Matt O'Toole
  • Les Weldon
Screenplay by
Story by
  • Creighton Rothenberger
  • Katrin Benedikt
Based onCharacters
by Creighton Rothenberger
Katrin Benedikt
Starring
Music byTrevor Morris
CinematographyEd Wild
Edited by
  • Paul Martin Smith
  • Michael Duthie
Production
company
Distributed byFocus Features[1]
Release date
  • March 1, 2016 (2016-03-01) (Hollywood)
  • March 4, 2016 (2016-03-04) (United States)
Running time
99 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$60 million[3][4]
Box office$205.9 million[4]

Filming began in London on October 24, 2014. A Christmas break started in November with filming resuming in February 2015. The film was released by Focus Features under their recently revived Gramercy Pictures label on March 4, 2016, and grossed $205 million worldwide. However, the critical reception was generally negative, with Variety accusing it of fear-mongering and "terrorsploitation" while The A.V. Club named it worst film of the year.

A third film, titled Angel Has Fallen, was released on August 23, 2019.

Plot

G8 intelligence services locate Pakistani arms trafficker and terrorist mastermind Aamir Barkawi (Alon Moni Aboutboul) at his compound on the outskirts of Lahore, and authorize a US Air Force drone strike during his daughter's wedding, based on intelligence supplied by a covert MI6 informant, killing Barkawi's family and seemingly Barkawi himself.

Two years later, British Prime Minister James Wilson suddenly dies, and the G7 prepare to attend his funeral in London. Secret Service Director Lynne Jacobs (Angela Bassett) assigns agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) to lead American President Benjamin Asher's (Aaron Eckhart) overseas security detail, even though Banning's wife Leah (Radha Mitchell) is due to give birth in a few weeks. The entourage arrives via Air Force One at Stansted Airport, and Banning arranges an earlier arrival at Somerset House in London via Marine One.

As Asher's Presidential State Car arrives at St Paul's Cathedral, a band of mercenaries led by Barkawi's son Kamran (Waleed Zuaiter) launch coordinated attacks on the city disguised as Metropolitan Police, the Queen's Guardsmen, and other first responders, killing five Western leaders, damaging major landmarks and generating mass panic. Asher's early arrival throws off the St. Paul's attack, and Banning returns him and Jacobs to Marine One. The terrorists destroy the helicopter's escorts with Stinger missiles, forcing the damaged helicopter to crash-land in Hyde Park. Fatally injured, Jacobs makes Banning promise to stay alive for his unborn child, and to punish those responsible for the attacks. Banning escorts Asher into the London Underground as the city's power is lost and residents shelter indoors.

In Washington, D.C., American Vice President Allan Trumbull (Morgan Freeman) investigates the incident with British authorities while trying to track down the President. He receives a call from Barkawi, still alive after all and operating in Sana'a. Seeking revenge for the drone strike that killed his family, and having poisoned Wilson to lure the G7 to London, Barkawi knows Asher is still alive, and promises that if Kamran captures him, he will broadcast Asher's execution online. Trumbull orders his staff to locate Barkawi's known operatives and find any connection to the attack, while British authorities stand down all first responders so any left in the open can be identified as terrorists.

After leaving a sign to be picked up by satellite, Banning leads Asher to an MI6 safe-house, where agent Jacquelin "Jax" Marshall (Charlotte Riley) briefs them. Marshall receives a voice message from Trumbull that they saw Banning's sign and an extraction team is en route. Security monitors display an approaching Delta Force team, but Banning realizes they have arrived too soon and are actually more of Barkawi's mercenaries. After Banning fights off the mercenaries and drives away with Asher, their car is struck by the terrorists before they can reach the US Embassy, and Asher is taken. Banning is rescued by the combined SFOD-D and SAS extraction team, who suspect there is a mole in the British government.

Trumbull's staff identify a building owned by Barkawi, drawing massive power despite being unoccupied, and realize it is Kamran's headquarters. Banning joins the extraction team to infiltrate the building, arriving seconds before Kamran can decapitate Asher. Kamran escapes when his hacker Sultan drops a grenade with his dying breath, forcing Banning to protect Asher from the blast. Banning and Asher escape just before the building is destroyed by the Delta Force/SAS squad, killing Kamran and the remaining terrorists. Marshall and British authorities restore London's security system and, discovering that MI5 Intelligence Chief John Lancaster (Patrick Kennedy) was Barkawi's mole, she kills him when he goes for his own gun. Trumbull tells Barkawi that his plan failed, moments before US federal authorities destroy the building equipped with another drone strike, killing Barkawi and the remaining members of his terrorist group.

Two weeks later, Banning is home spending time with Leah and their newborn child Lynne, named after Jacobs. As Banning contemplates sending a letter of resignation, he watches Trumbull speak on television regarding the recent events, with a message that the U.S. will prevail. Inspired, Banning deletes the letter.

Cast

Production

Casting

Butler, Eckhart, Freeman, Bassett, Leo, Forster and Mitchell reprised their roles from Olympus Has Fallen.[5] Production had been scheduled to begin in May 2015 in London, with Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt returning to write the script. Director Antoine Fuqua, however, did not return, due to his commitments with The Equalizer.[15] On May 1, 2014, it was announced Focus Features had acquired distribution rights to the sequel, and would release the film on October 2, 2015.[16] On August 18, 2014, it was announced that Charlie Countryman director Fredrik Bond would take over direction from Fuqua,[17] but Bond left the film on September 18, six weeks before the shooting was to begin.[18] On September 28, director Babak Najafi signed on to direct the film.[9] On October 10, Jackie Earle Haley joined the film to play Deputy Chief Mason.[8] On November 12, Mehdi Dehbi joined the film to play Sultan Mansoor, the youngest of three brothers whose life has been forever changed after a drone strike.[12]

Filming

Principal photography began on October 24, 2014, in London.[7][19] Four weeks of shooting were to take place, involving actors Freeman, Eckhart, Bassett and Melissa Leo, before a break for Christmas. Butler and Angela Bassett were seen filming in Somerset House.[20] Butler stated in an interview that the movie was also filmed in India and was to continue in Bulgaria.[21] Then President of Bulgaria, Rosen Plevneliev, visited the set of London Has Fallen during filming at Boyana Cinema Center in Bulgaria.[22][23] Filming lasted through April 2015.[9]

Score

The music was composed and conducted by Trevor Morris, who provided the score for the first film.[24] The record was released on March 4, 2016, by Back Lot Music.[25] The score was recorded at Abbey Road Studios with The Chamber Orchestra of London.

All music composed by Trevor Morris.

London Has Fallen (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
No.TitleLength
1."London Has Fallen"1:58
2."Spotting Barkawi"2:25
3."Bourbon and Poor Choices"1:17
4."Nursery"0:49
5."Scotland Yard"0:57
6."President Arrives in the UK"0:49
7."Motorcade / Marine One Lands"1:44
8."London Attacked"4:53
9."London Goes Dark"1:49
10."Marine One Crash"3:20
11."Jacob's Death"1:42
12."Not Much of a Talker"1:57
13."How Bad Is It?"1:03
14."I'm Not Going to Die on YouTube"9:04
15."Don't Jinx Me"4:04
16."Right Under Our Noses"3:51
17."Rescuing Asher"12:30
18."Hand Fight and Hand Grenade"1:59
19."Let's Get Outta Here"1:41
20."I Hate Funerals"1:18
21."Traitor"2:12
22."Reciprocity"1:44
23."Resignation Letter"0:50
24."End Titles / Credits"1:26
Total length:52:00

Release

On May 20, 2015, Focus Features relaunched their Gramercy Pictures label for action, horror, and science fiction releases, with London Has Fallen being one of Gramercy's first titles.[1] The film was planned for an October 2, 2015, release, however, on June 12, 2015, it was announced that the film had been moved back to January 22, 2016, to avoid competition with The Martian, which swapped its original November 25 release date with Victor Frankenstein.[26][27] On July 1, 2015, the film's teaser trailer was released.[28] The timing of the release was criticized as "insensitive" by the Chair of the Tavistock Square Memorial Trust, Philip Nelson, as it coincided with the week of the 10th anniversary of the 7 July 2005 London bombings, in which 52 people were killed, and with the 2015 Sousse attacks, in which 30 British nationals were killed.[29] On September 16, 2015, the film's release was moved back again to March 4, 2016, because the studios needed more time to finish the film's visual effects.[30] The U.S. trailer was released on November 5, 2015.[31] A new theatrical poster of the film was released on January 21, 2016.[32]

Home media

London Has Fallen was released on Blu-ray and DVD on June 14, 2016.

Reception

Box office

London Has Fallen grossed $62.7 million in North America and $143.2 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $205.9 million, against a budget of $60 million.[4] The film outgrossed its predecessor's total of $170 million.

In the United States and Canada, pre-release tracking suggested the film would gross $20–23 million from 3,490 theaters in its opening weekend, trailing fellow newcomer Zootopia ($60–70 million projection) but besting Whiskey Tango Foxtrot ($10–12 million projection).[33] The film made $850,000 from its Thursday night previews and $7.6 million on its first day. It went on to gross $21.6 million in its opening weekend, finishing second at the box office behind Zootopia ($75 million).[34]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 27% based on 195 reviews, with an average rating of 3.98/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "London Has Fallen traps a talented cast – and all who dare to see it – in a mid-1990s basic-cable nightmare of a film loaded with xenophobia, and threadbare action-thriller clichés."[35] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 28 out of 100, based on reviews from 35 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[36] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale,[34] the same score as the first film.[37]

Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of The A.V. Club wrote: "A murky, brain-dead stab-a-thon packed with so many inane chases, laughable special effects, and mismatched stock footage shots that it begs to be made into a drinking game, London Has Fallen is one of those rare films that is good at absolutely nothing."[38] The A.V. Club later picked it as their worst film of the year.[39]

Controversy

Variety described London Has Fallen as "effortlessly racist" invoking "familiar Islamophobia", a "terrorsploitation" fantasy designed to spread fear after the November 2015 Paris attacks, and "ugly, reactionary fear-mongering."[40] Meanwhile, The Hollywood Reporter styled it as "major world capitals destruction porn sub-genre" that feeds a "paranoia".[40]

The film has been called "extremely insensitive" by families of the victims of the 7/7 bombings after an early trailer was released ahead of the 10th anniversary of the attacks.[41]

Sequel
Main article: Angel Has Fallen

On October 26, 2016, it was announced that a sequel titled Angel Has Fallen is in development, with Gerard Butler reprising his role, as well as once again acting as a producer on the film.[42]

On July 25, 2017, Ric Roman Waugh was announced as director for Angel Has Fallen.[43] On January 10, 2018, Holt McCallany joined the cast as Wade Jennings, an ex-military turned head of a technology company,[44] but was replaced later by Danny Huston. On January 18, 2018, Jada Pinkett Smith and Tim Blake Nelson were confirmed to appear in Angel Has Fallen. On February 13, 2018, Piper Perabo joined the cast.[45] Filming started on February 7, 2018[46] in Virginia Water Lake.[47]

The film was released on August 23, 2019.

See also

References
  1. Petski, Denise (May 20, 2015). "Focus Features Revives Gramercy Pictures Label For Genre Films". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  2. "LONDON HAS FALLEN (15)". British Board of Film Classification. February 4, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  3. "Box Office: 'Zootopia' to Take Down 'Deadpool' With Huge $60 Million-Plus Debut". Variety. March 2, 2016.
  4. "London Has Fallen (2016)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  5. "OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN Sequel LONDON HAS FALLEN Moving Forward with Gerard Butler". October 29, 2013.
  6. Goldberg, Matt (November 4, 2014). "Filming begins on London Has Fallen starring Gerard Butler; First Synopsis Revealed". Collider. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
  7. Rosser, Michael (November 3, 2014). "London Has Fallen begins filming". Screen Daily. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  8. Sneider, Jeff (October 10, 2014). "'Olympus Has Fallen' Sequel Lands Jackie Earle Haley As First New Cast Member". thewrap.com. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  9. Kit, Borys (September 28, 2014). "Troubled 'Olympus Has Fallen' Sequel Finds Director". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  10. Goldberg, Matt (May 8, 2015). "First LONDON HAS FALLEN Poster Is Already Hating British Landmarks". Collider. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
  11. Miller, Phil (February 26, 2016). "Role in London has Fallen for Scottish actor marks first step into world of blockbusters". Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  12. Yamato, Jen (November 12, 2014). "'London Has Fallen' Adds 'Tyrant' Thesp". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  13. "Alex Giannini, 'Legend' Actor, Dies at 52".
  14. "Theatre world mourns Mack & Mabel actor Alex Giannini".
  15. "London Has Fallen heads to AFM".
  16. "Focus Features Dates 'Olympus' Sequel 'London Has Fallen' For October 2015". Deadline Hollywood. March 22, 2013. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
  17. "Fredrik Bond to Direct 'Olympus Has Fallen' Sequel". Variety. August 18, 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  18. Kit, Borys (September 18, 2014). "'Olympus Has Fallen' Sequel Loses Its Director". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
  19. "First day of filming 'London Has Fallen' sequel to "Olympus Has Fallen". Gerard Butler and Morgan Freeman". Nick McArdle on Instagram. October 24, 2014.
  20. "PICS: Gerard Butler spotted speeding down Strand in filming of action thriller". Roar News. March 8, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  21. Haq, Nilo (March 31, 2015). "Interview with Gerard Butler in Dubai". Saudi Beauty blog. Dubai. Eye candy Gerard Butler is the new ambassador for Boss Bottled
  22. "Плевнелиев: Три пъти повече филми може да се снимат у нас". btv Новините. March 24, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  23. "Bulgarian President visits London Has Fallen". Gerard Butler GALS. Bulgaria. March 24, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  24. "Trevor Morris to Return for 'London Has Fallen'". Film Music Reporter. April 23, 2015. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  25. "London Has Fallen (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". Apple. March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  26. Lesnick, Silas (June 12, 2015). "London Has Fallen Has Moved to 2016". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  27. "Fox Switches 'The Martian' and 'Victor Frankenstein' Release Dates". June 10, 2015. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  28. "Watch: Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart Fight for Their Lives in 'London Has Fallen' Teaser". Variety. July 1, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  29. "Gerard Butler film London Has Fallen SLAMMED as 'insensitive' while promoting capital's destruction days before 7/7 bombings anniversary". July 1, 2015. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  30. D'Alessandro, Anthony (September 16, 2015). "'London Has Fallen' On A New Release Date: Gerard Butler Action Film To Open March 4, 2016". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  31. Sneider, Jeff (November 5, 2015). "Gerard Butler Protects Aaron Eckhart From Terrorists in 'London Has Fallen' Trailer (Video)". The Wrap. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  32. Collis, Clark (January 21, 2016). "See the exclusive new poster for action sequel London Has Fallen". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
  33. "Disney Unleashed: 'Zootopia' Toon Expected To Roar Past $60M – Weekend Preview". Deadline Hollywood. March 2, 2016.
  34. CinemaScore on Twitter (March 4, 2016). "London Has Fallen". Retrieved April 9, 2017.
  35. "London Has Fallen (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  36. "London Has Fallen Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
  37. D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 7, 2016). "'Zootopia' $73.7M Opening Sets Record For Original Disney Toon; 'London' Raises $21.7M; 'Whiskey' Trips". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
  38. Vishnevetsky, Ignatiy (March 2, 2016). "Gerard Butler scowls his way through the atrocious London Has Fallen". The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
  39. "The 20 worst films of 2016". The A.V. Club. December 15, 2016. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  40. "London Has Fallen has been condemned as racist 'terrorsploitation' for the Trump era". The Independent. March 3, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  41. Child, Ben (July 2, 2015). "London Has Fallen attacked for 'insensitivity' by 7/7 victims' trust". The Guardian. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  42. Lodderhose, Diana (October 26, 2016). "Gerard Butler Heads To Millennium Films' Threequel 'Angel Has Fallen'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  43. Kroll, Justin (July 25, 2017). "'Shot Caller' Director Boards 'Olympus Has Fallen' Sequel 'Angel Has Fallen'". Variety. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  44. Patten, Dominic (January 10, 2018). "'Mindhunter's Holt McCallany Joins Gerard Butler In 'Angel Has Fallen'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  45. N'Duka, Amanda (February 13, 2018). "Piper Perabo Boards Gerard Butler-Toplined Sequel 'Angel Has Fallen'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
  46. Fleming Jr., Mike (January 18, 2018). "Jada Pinkett Smith, Daughter Willow & Mom Adrienne Set Facebook Talk Show: Sundance". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  47. Demony, Catarina (February 27, 2018). "Angel Has Fallen filming: Preparations under way for shooting in Virginia Water as crews spotted at popular beauty spot". Get Surrey. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
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