It is loud. It is violent. Honestly, the London Has Fallen movie is basically the cinematic equivalent of a triple-shot espresso mixed with a punch to the face. Released back in 2016, this sequel to Olympus Has Fallen didn't just try to raise the stakes; it tried to blow them up with a rocket launcher.
Critics absolutely hated it. Like, "worst film of the year" level of hatred.
But here is the thing: audiences didn't care. They showed up in droves.
The movie pulled in over $205 million globally against a $60 million budget. That is a massive win in the world of mid-budget action. People clearly wanted to see Gerard Butler's Mike Banning stab his way through a besieged London, even if the "logic" of the plot was held together by Scotch tape and wishful thinking.
What Actually Happens in the London Has Fallen Movie?
The setup is pretty simple, if a bit grim. The British Prime Minister dies suddenly. Naturally, every major world leader has to show up for the funeral. It is "the most protected event on earth," which, in movie language, means it is about five minutes away from becoming a total disaster.
And it does. Coordinated attacks break out across the city. Landmarks go boom.
While the CGI for some of these explosions hasn't aged particularly well—it looks a bit "early 2000s video game" in spots—the sheer scale of the chaos is what the fans loved. You've got Aaron Eckhart returning as President Benjamin Asher, and once again, he’s the most targeted man on the planet. Morgan Freeman is back too, mostly sitting in a high-tech room looking worried, which he does better than anyone else in Hollywood.
The plot kicks off when Aamir Barkawi, a Pakistani arms dealer, seeks revenge for a drone strike on his daughter’s wedding. He spends two years infiltrating every level of London’s security. Seriously, in this movie, it feels like half the Metropolitan Police and the Queen's Guard are actually terrorists in disguise. It’s ridiculous. It’s over the top. But it sets the stage for Mike Banning to do what he does best: kill people in creative ways.
The Controversy and the "Terrorsploitation" Label
You can't talk about the London Has Fallen movie without mentioning the backlash. It arrived at a very tense time in the real world. The 2015 Paris attacks were fresh in people's minds, and the movie's depiction of a city under siege by Islamic terrorists felt, to many, like "reactionary fear-mongering."
Variety called it "effortlessly racist." Other critics labeled it "terrorsploitation."
There is one line in particular where Banning tells a terrorist to head back to "F***headistan." It's a moment that makes you cringe or cheer depending on how much you’ve leaned into the "80s action hero" vibe. Gerard Butler himself defended the film at the time, basically saying it’s just a fictional popcorn flick about "us winning."
Behind the Scenes: Was it Even Shot in London?
Surprisingly, yes and no.
While you see the Cutty Sark, Somerset House, and the Charing Cross Underground, a huge chunk of the movie was actually filmed at Nu Boyana Film Studios in Bulgaria. They built a massive, authentic London set because, as it turns out, blowing up the real St. Paul’s Cathedral is generally frowned upon by the local council.
The production had some hurdles. The original director, Fredrik Bond, actually bailed just weeks before filming started. Babak Najafi stepped in, and he clearly leaned into the "R-rated, gritty, stab-a-thon" aesthetic.
One thing people often miss is the technical effort in the final act. There is a long, three-minute "oner"—a continuous take—following Banning as he raids a terrorist hideout. Even if you hate the politics of the movie, that sequence is a legit piece of action choreography. It’s gritty, messy, and feels way more grounded than the CGI-heavy beginning.
How It Compares to the Rest of the Trilogy
Where does this sit in the "Has Fallen" pantheon?
- Olympus Has Fallen (2013): The "Die Hard in the White House" original. It felt fresh because it was so unapologetically brutal.
- London Has Fallen (2016): The "Bigger is Better" sequel. It’s the highest-grossing of the three but also the most polarizing.
- Angel Has Fallen (2019): A much more personal, "The Fugitive" style story where Banning is the one being hunted.
Many fans think the second movie is the "dumbest" but also the most "fun" if you just want to turn your brain off. It doesn't have the claustrophobic tension of the first one, but it replaces it with sheer, unadulterated carnage.
The Reality Check: Could This Actually Happen?
Short answer: Not like this.
Security experts and Londoners had a field day pointing out the holes. For one, the UK has incredibly strict gun laws. The idea that hundreds of terrorists could smuggle AK-47s and rocket launchers into the heart of Westminster without anyone noticing is... well, it’s a stretch.
Also, the way the world leaders are depicted is kind of hilarious. The French President is on a small boat with two guys. The Japanese Prime Minister is just sitting in traffic. It makes the US Secret Service look like gods and every other security agency look like they're on their first day of internship.
But hey, we don't watch Mike Banning movies for a lesson in international diplomacy. We watch them to see a guy kill a terrorist with a decorative vase.
Why We Still Watch It
Despite the 28% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the London Has Fallen movie has a weirdly long shelf life on streaming platforms. It’s a "comfort watch" for action junkies. It’s fast. It’s 99 minutes of zero filler.
In an era where every superhero movie is three hours long and full of "multiverse" lore, there is something refreshing about a movie where the stakes are: "The President is in a basement, go get him."
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It’s a throwback to the Cannon Films era of the 80s. It’s jingoistic, it’s loud, and it’s completely aware of what it is. It isn't trying to win an Oscar. It’s trying to make you spill your popcorn when a helicopter crashes into a bridge.
Actionable Takeaways for Your Next Rewatch
If you are planning to revisit this one, or maybe see it for the first time, keep these things in mind to get the most out of it:
- Look for the "Oner": Pay close attention to the street battle toward the end. It’s a single-shot sequence that is genuinely impressive from a filmmaking standpoint.
- Spot the Bulgaria Sets: See if you can tell which scenes are the real London and which are the Bulgarian replicas. The lighting is usually the dead giveaway.
- Double Feature it: Watch it back-to-back with White House Down. It’s fascinating to see how two movies with the same premise (Saving the President) can have such wildly different tones—one is a PG-13 romp, the other is a bloody R-rated grindhouse flick.
- Check the Supporting Cast: Beyond the big names, look for Robert Forster and Jackie Earle Haley. They are legendary actors who bring a lot of weight to very small "sitting in a room" roles.
The movie is a relic of a specific type of filmmaking that we don't see as much anymore. Love it or hate it, you can't deny that it knows exactly how to get a reaction.