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Angel Has Fallen, the latest action film centered around Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) and his attempts to save the President's life at all costs, was one of the biggest box office successes of last year, providing another lucrative installment in the White House-based franchise. Though the series is still more of a fan favorite than a critical hit, the action movies continue to get bigger and stakes only get higher. That said, even the biggest fans of these blockbusters might admit that not everything in here makes a ton of sense. Here are five things from Angel Has Fallen that don't necessarily add up.
Aaron Eckhart Is Totally Absent From Angel Has Fallen
To be clear, there's an implied reason why President Benjamin Asher, played by Aaron Eckhart, doesn't appear in Angel Has Fallen. Though he played a central role in Olympus Has Fallen and London Has Fallen, this third installment supposedly takes place years after these movies, which suggests that Asher already completed his two terms as president and now former Vice President Allan Trumball (Morgan Freeman) has been elected commander-in-chief . But his absence is felt, and the decision to gloss over his character completely — despite the loyal camaraderie he once shared with Mike Banning — makes it puzzling that Angel doesn't even mention him. There's no cameo. They don't even show a picture of Eckhart. If you went into this sequel cold, you wouldn't guess that Eckhart once played a key part in this franchise.
Granted, I'm not saying that Angel Has Fallen had to pull a Poochie and the characters need to constantly (and in clunky fashion) address President Benjamin Asher's absence. But still, it's ... odd that Asher doesn't even get a passing mention, no? Why is that? Why did Aaron Eckhart not choose to return? Or, rather, why did the screenwriters opt not to bring him into the fold for this third, potentially final movie? The answer's unclear. In 2016, Eckhart revealed that Asher would be retired in the third movie, which isn't illogical but it raises questions. Did the writers feel Asher served his purpose? Did Eckhart not want to return? It's not as though he was tied up with another project when it came time to make this movie. The removal of this wonderful actor was notably felt.
Tim Blake Nelson Isn't Given More To Do
Tim Blake Nelson is a treasure. An exceptionally talented actor/writer/director/producer with over 30 years of experience, he's always a welcomed presence and can play a wealth of characters, from kind-hearted and lovable to scheming and menacing — sometimes both. Thus, he's an actor who makes you perk up whenever he's on-screen. Alas, while Tim Blake Nelson is given ample screen-time in Angel Has Fallen, his talents are largely and disappointingly wasted Vice President Martin Kirby, who is appointed to President of the United States when President Trumball's in a coma. His intentions are nefarious, and the movie doesn't keep it subtle. While Nelson plays the part as well as he can, it's a stock villainous role. There's not enough there to make him stand out.
While it's always good to give Tim Blake Nelson a paid role in a major blockbuster, Angel Has Fallen is a missed opportunity for Tim Blake Nelson. The character doesn't play to the actor's oddball strengths. While he does diligently decent work, Nelson doesn't seem comfortable. It looks like he's trying to figure out what he can do, to no avail. In fact, sometimes he looks outright bored, which is a shame. There are few cardinal sins in Hollywood, and one of them is that you shouldn't waste Tim Blake Nelson. Alas, Angel Has Fallen doesn't give him enough to do here.
The FBI Thinks Mike Banning Would Try To Kill The President (Did They Not Watch The Last Two Movies?!)
In Angel Has Fallen, Mike Banning is on the run after he's framed for an assassination attempt on President Allan Trumball, resulting in the death of several secret service agents. With the FBI believing Banning is the number one subject, particularly when falsely-spread evidence is staged against him, Banning must race against the clock to save the president and clear his name. While the familiar storyline makes for an action-friendly sequel, it makes you wonder if these FBI characters remembered to watch the first two movies. Or, at least, did their research to remember what a life-saving badass Banning was after the events of Olympus and London Has Fallen. As we saw there, Banning saved the free world not once, but twice.
Mike Banning made it very clear that he'll do everything in his god-given power to save the president at any cost. He's an effectively lethal protector, one who won't stop until the president is safe and secure. Therefore, even if the evidence planted looked suspicious, there's no reason to believe Banning would ever do anything to hurt or kill the president. He's a powerful ally, with unfailing loyalty to his boss. For the FBI to think he'd jeopardize that for silly reasons makes for heavy stakes but it seems unlikely. The FBI and Banning play cat and mouse throughout the movie, with Banning constantly slipping from their grasps. Before they realize the error in the poor judgement, FBI Agent Helen Thompson (Jada Pinkett Smith) and FBI Agent Ramirez (Joseph Millson) are gunned down by Wade Jennings (Danny Huston), the real villain behind this assassination.
Mike Banning Gets In A Serious Semi-Truck Accident ... Yet Has No Serious Injuries
Midway through Angel Has Fallen, Mike Banning drives a semi-truck in a dangerous high-speed chase with the cops. He's swerving his truck left-and-right in an effort to knock them off his trail, but in the process, Banning gets into a major collision, resulting in the massive vehicle being flipped on its side. After a series of coughs, Banning shakes it off and runs for the woods, wobbling slightly as he goes, but not facing any serious injuries. Now, I'm not a physics expert. Sure, there have been times when people walked away with zero-to-minor injuries in a car crash. But when it comes to this crash, it looked pretty serious. While it's not impossible that Banning could run away, it seems highly unlikely.
Especially by this point, we're lead to believe that Mike Banning is basically a superhero. While he's slightly more grounded than he was in London Has Fallen, it's nearly impossible to slow him down. With the president in peril and his name smeared, there's no stopping Banning — and if you're looking to poke holes in the movie's logic (which I'm basically doing here... but no matter), you're missing the point. Still, one's suspension of disbelief can only stretch so far. At some point, it'll rip or tear. While Banning can survive basically anything short of the apocalypse, as we've seen in three movies now, one has to wonder how he didn't have at least a cracked rib or internal bleeding after this serious truck accident. Alas, the movie has no time for Banning to be injured.
People Magazine's 1992 Sexiest Man Alive Is An Old Hermit Who Lives By Himself In The Woods
I don't know a lot about math or science, but if you asked me which celebrity was named the Sexiest Man Alive in 1992 by People Magazine, I can tell you that it was none other than Nick Nolte. The grouchy actor, fresh from the acclaimed romantic drama The Prince of Tides, became an unlikely item in the early 1990s, which is even more surprising and bizarre when you see the veteran actor pop up halfway into Angel Has Fallen looking mangy and scruffy. I'm not here to disparage his looks, but it's weird that the guy once considered the sexiest man on the planet Earth turned into a bearded Santa Claus living like a paranoid hermit. Truly, the power of acting, right?
Joking aside, Nick Nolte gives the best, most soulful performance in Angel Has Fallen, giving the dramatic scenes believable heft while also providing some likable levity in the middle. He's an outstanding actor, and the white beard works for him. But when you watch Nolte in this and remember how he was once considered the sexiest man on the planet in our not-too-distant past, it takes you back a little bit.
In addition to these logic jumps, plot holes, or general inconsistencies, both frivolous and otherwise, there are a couple other things in Angel Has Fallen that don't add up. Like why does Mike Banning periodically become Scottish when he speaks? How did Leah Banning go from looking like Radha Mitchell to Piper Perabo between sequels? This franchise might never give us these answers. In any case, let us know what you think of Angel Has Fallen in the comment section below.
