London Has Fallen

The good: Solid action, good pacing and tongue-in-cheek but solid performances from the leads. The film clips along at a nice pace and does not overstay its welcome. There really aren't any unnecessary scenes, but some do fall into exposition heavy territory.

The bad: Mostly just some implausible action scenes fuelled by absolutely stupid decisions by the characters. Both antagonist and protagonists are guilty, and it really takes you out of the movie. This dumbness isn't necessary - Die Hard conquered it in the 80s. Intelligent heroes and villains do exist.

Should you watch it? If you're wanting a standard action flick that is fun, enjoyable and not too long. You've come to the right place.

I enjoyed this film for what it is - yes, none of it's really that plausible, and yes, it's riddled with as many holes in the plot as there are bullet holes the President's Land Rover. Oh, and yes, it's one sided and terribly patriotic - if you're an American - but remember, it's only a film, and a Hollywood Tinsel Town film at that.

Significantly perhaps, as I watched The President face up to the plot against him, I kept wondering... "what would Donald do in such circumstances?" Let's hope he's not taking notes.

The naysayer membership here at IMDb who gave this film 1/10 are missing the point entirely. Like most of what is spewed out by Hollywood, it's all fiction and fantasy held together by as much implausibility as the producers can get away with, and I think most intelligent audiences will get that.

Ah, but "what about the less intelligent movie goer?" you might ask. Well, dress it up as much as you like and these people will never get the irony of such a picture. They've also probably made up their minds as to who's side they're on anyway - and no liberal, limp-wristed Hollywood alternative will convince them they're backing the wrong team.

So I encourage you to watch "London Has Fallen" if you get the chance, and if you can, enjoy your place in the Free World to make up your own mind...

1 star? Not as good as the first movie? Let's get real! Olympus Has Fallen was equally ridiculous, jingoistic, lacking well-rounded characters, and originality - so why is everyone surprised when London Has Fallen is no different?

Yes it's jingoistic. Yes it's still lacking well-rounded characters. Yes it's mindless violence. And yes it's ludicrous...

...ludicrously freaking awesome that is!

The first thing I loved about this movie was the bad language. It was refreshing. I know that sounds like an odd thing to say, but go with me a moment...

...see, in an era of 12A action movies with tonnes of violence and no bad language, Butler dropping the F bomb a billion times ironically brings a level of realism to London Has Fallen, that is lacking in movies that take themselves far more seriously.

Yes the entire concept is stupid, but that's not what we're here for. I'm here to watch Butler stab bad buys repeatedly in the chest and shoot AK-47s out of 4X4 cars bombing along the Thames at 80 miles per hour. That's what I signed up for.

The pacing of this movie is perfect. It's never boring, and the action sequences are really fun. Yes, in places the CG is a bit shoddy, but the movie is still quite spectacular in pulling off some big set pieces in London.

London Has Fallen is mainly a two-hander between Butler and Eckhart, with some nice buddy moments and fantastic action sequences throughout, including a mega shoot-out at Somerset House, a mega shoot-out in the Underground, and mega shoot outs in dark buildings, including the finale in Soho, of all places.

This isn't going to get any Oscars, but it's a brilliantly retro action movie that takes itself far less seriously than throw-back action films like Taken, which is no less crazy in the plot department.

Anyone who enjoys mindless action will not be disappointed, and where this movie lacks realistic plot, it makes up for it in pacing. At 1 hour 40 - in an age of bloated, long movies that think they're more intelligent than they are - this is frankly a breath of fresh air.

Get a big bowl of popcorn and some sodi-pops, and enjoy relentless, shooting, stabbing, swearing and explosions. Great fun!

Sorry to spoil the party but I actually enjoyed this movie.

OK it isn't Shakespeare or some deep meaning movie but it isn't meant to be. OK it has lots of plot holes and is pretty far fetched, as are most thrillers but I didn't watch it for any of those reasons.

This a good paced thriller and Mr Butler carries it of well. The action never stops from beginning to end and the acting no where near as bad as others on here have said.

I am only glad I didn't pay attention to all the negative comments on here as this is a movie I would watch again.

As I have said before, I have a soft spot for movies made by Millennium Films, because they are the closest modern day equivalent to the notorious Cannon Films, which made a ton of cheesy but fun B grade movies in the 1980s. The Millennium Films production "London Has Fallen" is really a glorified Cannon movie, and that's why I had fun with it. Oh, I will admit that a lot of it is silly and/or bad. The CGI is often kind of cheap, the depiction of the story's terrorists and their intricate plans is really hard to swallow, and the movie is quite predictable. But it's enjoyable all the same. The first twenty five or so minutes are kind of slow, but then it starts delivering almost non stop action until the end. It's certainly never dull, and even a little exciting at times despite the fact you'll know how each scene will end as soon as it starts. I can see why some people would hate this movie, but for me, it was a fun romp. The more you like B movies, the better the chance you'll like this movie.