Editor’s Notes: London Has Fallen is currently out in wide theatrical release.
Action films, at least the ones near and dear to us, thrive on mindlessness. Smart or intricate entries into the genre are much more valuable, of course, yet there’s plenty to love about Roland EmmeAction films, at least the ones near and dear to us, thrive on mindlessness. Smart or intricate entries into the genre are much more valuable, of course, yet there’s plenty to love about Roland Emmerich films or (a few) Michael Bay extravaganzas. Despite this, a point can be reached where they’re overlong, overblown, mind-numbing, and too dumb to enjoy (like a good portion of Michael Bay’s filmography). There isn’t much fun to be had with mindlessness this profound, but even further down on the intelligence spectrum, there’s a point where such emptiness becomes filled with mean-spirited hatred. Right around there, explosions stop inciting glee, and wildly concentrated toxicity pervades every frame. This is where London Has Fallen lives.
London Has Fallen is everything wrong with America, an atrocity of extreme patriotism we should all be ashamed of.
London Has Fallen is everything wrong with America, an atrocity of extreme patriotism we should all be ashamed of. It’s the kind of film that insists America is great, not because it does the right thing or tries to maintain diplomacy, but because it’s better than everyone else thanks to its tendency toward violence and “cool badassery,” personified here in Gerard Butler. It’s the kind of film that begins with an American air strike taking numerous innocent lives, to which America’s response is essentially, “Hey, we didn’t know, we didn’t know, shut up,” and ends with another air strike, accompanied by slow motion and uplifting music. In every other scene, our “heroes” fetishize violence, seeming to get a vaguely sexual thrill out of performing horribly unnecessary actions. Most disgustingly, there’s a scene in which Gerard Butler contacts a young enemy’s brother on a radio, and proceeds to slowly slip a knife into the kid’s spine so his brother will hear his screams. At this sight, Aaron Eckhart asks, “Was that really necessary?” to which Butler delivers the punchline, “Nope.”
Insensitivity’s at an all-time high throughout, and hearing the audience eat all of it up is even more worrisome.
In moments like these, London Has Fallen wants to argue that America is a victim who will rise to the occasion. This isn’t what America ends up feeling like, instead more along the lines of a hotheaded, prejudiced teenager. It’s hard not see this in moments like the audience being instructed to feel thrilled when Gerard Butler grabs a terrorist and takes an excessively long time shouting, “People like you have been trying to kill us for decades, and a thousand years from now we’ll still be here, so go back to Fuckheadistan or wherever you came from!” There’s also the moment when Aaron Eckhart comes out of hiding in a closet, to which Gerard Butler replies, after taking his sweet time doing some prolonged killing, “I was wondering when you were gonna come out of the closet!” It’s difficult to stop simply listing moments where London Has Fallen goes wrong, because they’re so everlasting and scarily frequent. Insensitivity’s at an all-time high throughout, and hearing the audience eat all of it up is even more worrisome.
It’s not London Has Fallen‘s job to change the world, or make relevant commentary about warfare, but glorifying the things it does only helps American audiences backpedal, not move forward.
It's not London Has Fallen's job to change the world, or make relevant commentary about warfare, but glorifying the things it does only helps American audiences backpedal, not move forward.
