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Laramie Movie Scope:
London Has Fallen

Absurdly large action film set in London

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by Robert Roten, Film Critic
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March 5, 2016 -- This big action film is a follow up to “Olympus Has Fallen” with some of the same stars reprising their roles from the first film, including Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett and Radha Mitchell.

This time around, onetime disgraced secret service agent Mike Banning (Butler) has become the top agent in charge of protecting U.S. President Benjamin Asher (Eckhart). But Banning is about to become a father, so he is contemplating resigning his position. The death of the British Prime Minister requires Asher and Banning to attend the funeral in London over the objections of Secret Service Director Lynne Jacobs (Bassett) because the funeral is a security nightmare.

Sure enough, Jacobs is right. Trouble starts right away at the funeral with explosions and attacks from assassins disguised as London Police. The extent of the attack is ridiculous. Buildings are blown up, huge numbers of police and security guards are gunned down. Stinger missiles take down helicopters. London is in ruins. Somehow the attackers have not only placed bombs all over London, but they have managed to smuggle an enemy army right into the heart of London, without the London Police, MI5 or MI6 noticing anything. Where was James Bond? Worst security – ever.

If you overlook all of that, the rest of the story is O.K. You've got Asher and Banning trying to find a safe haven somewhere in London on their own. You've also got the London Police and other national security services trying to restore order in London. Yet another part of the story has British intelligence trying to find out who the mole is in their organization who helped the bad guys organize this disaster in secret.

Who is behind all this? It is no mystery, since the answer is telegraphed early in the film. It is a powerful arms dealer, Aamir Barkawi (Alon Moni Aboutboul) whose bride was killed by a U.S. drone strike. Barkawi, and his father both want revenge. Barkawi's plan is to execute Asher himself, and let the world watch the event on the Internet.

Once it gets rolling, this is a flat-out obscenity-laced R-rated action movie that is politically incorrect. The bad guys aren't just killed, they are murdered, gleefully. They aren't just shot. They are also choked and knifed (with a twisting of the knife to insure a painful death). The bad guys are mocked and disrespected as they and their families are killed. This is old school, unapologetic, racist storytelling, white hats and black hats.

Some will find this movie offensive because it is politically incorrect, but I was O.K. with it. After all, it is just a big, dumb action film. There is a message in it, too, about the unintended consequences of targeted assassinations using armed drones. This film rates a B.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in digital formats, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

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Copyright © 2016 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.
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Robert Roten can be reached via e-mail at my last name at lariat dot org. [Mailer button: image of letter and envelope]

(If you e-mail me with a question about this or any other movie or review, please mention the name of the movie you are asking the question about, otherwise I may have no way of knowing which film you are referring to)