London Has Fallen

London Has Fallen is a 2016 American action thriller film directed by Babak Najafi and written by Creighton Rothenberger, Katrin Benedikt, Chad St. John and Christian Gudegast. It is a sequel to Antoine Fuqua's 2013 film Olympus Has Fallen and stars Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart and Morgan Freeman, with Alon Moni Aboutboul, Angela Bassett, Robert Forster, Jackie Earle Haley, Melissa Leo, Radha Mitchell, Sean O'Bryan, Waleed Zuaiter and Charlotte Riley in supporting roles. It is the second installment in the Fallen film series. The film follows a plot to assassinate the world leaders of the G7 as they attend the British Prime Minister's funeral in London, and Secret Service agent Mike Banning's efforts to protect US President Benjamin Asher from being killed by the terrorists.
Filming began in London on October 24, 2014. A Christmas break started in November with filming resuming in February 2015. The film was released by Focus Features under their recently revived Gramercy Pictures label on March 4, 2016, and grossed $205 million worldwide. However, the critical reception was generally negative, with Variety accusing it of fear-mongering and "terrorsploitation" while The A.V. Club named it worst film of the year.
A third film, titled Angel Has Fallen, was released on August 23, 2019.
==Plot==
G8 intelligence services locate Pakistani arms trafficker and terrorist mastermind Aamir Barkawi at his compound, and authorize a US Air Force drone strike during his daughter's wedding, killing Barkawi's family and seemingly Barkawi himself.
Two years later, British Prime Minister James Wilson suddenly dies, and the G7 prepare to attend his funeral in London. Secret Service Director Lynne Jacobs assigns Agent Mike Banning to lead U.S. President Benjamin Asher's overseas security detail, even though Banning's wife Leah is due to give birth in a few weeks. The entourage arrives via Air Force One at Stansted Airport, and Banning arranges an earlier arrival at Somerset House in London via Marine One.
As Asher's Presidential State Car arrives at St Paul's Cathedral, a group of mercenaries led by Barkawi's son Kamran (Waleed Zuaiter) launch coordinated attacks on the city disguised as Metropolitan Police, the Queen's Guardsmen, and other first responders, killing five Western leaders, damaging major landmarks and generating mass panic. Asher's early arrival throws off the St. Paul's attack, and Banning returns him and Jacobs to Marine One. The terrorists destroy the helicopter's escorts with Stinger missiles, forcing the damaged helicopter to crash-land in Hyde Park. Fatally injured, Jacobs makes Banning promise to stay alive for his unborn child, and to punish those responsible. Banning escorts Asher into the London Underground as the city's power is lost and residents shelter indoors.
In Washington, D.C., American Vice President Allan Trumbull investigates the incident with British authorities while trying to track down the President. He receives a call from Barkawi, still alive and operating in Sanaa. Seeking revenge for the drone strike that killed his daughter, and having poisoned Wilson to lure the G7 leaders to London, Barkawi promises to broadcast Asher's execution online when Kamran captures him. Trumbull orders his staff to locate Barkawi's known terrorist operatives and find any connection to the attack, while British authorities stand down all first responders so any left in the open can be identified as terrorists. After leaving a sign to be picked up by satellite, Banning leads Asher to an MI6 safe-house, where MI6 Agent Jacquelin "Jax" Marshall briefs them. Marshall receives a voice message from Trumbull that they saw Banning's sign and an extraction team is en route. 
Security monitors display an approaching Delta Force team, but Banning realizes they have arrived too soon and are actually Barkawi's men. He fights and kills all of them and drives away with Asher, but their car is struck before they can reach the United States Embassy, and Asher is taken. Banning is rescued by an extraction team consisting of the real Delta Force and SAS, who suspect a mole in the British government.
Trumbull's staff identify a building owned by one of Barkawi's front companies, drawing massive power despite being 'unoccupied,' and realize it is Kamran's headquarters. Banning joins the extraction team to infiltrate the building, arriving seconds before Kamran can kill Asher on live coverage. Kamran escapes when his hacker, Sultan Mansoor, drops a grenade before being killed, forcing Banning to protect Asher from the blast. Banning and Asher escape just before the building is destroyed by the SAS squad captain using an explosive that Mike had planted earlier, killing Kamran and the remaining terrorists. Marshall helps British authorities restore London's security system and, discovering that MI5 Intelligence Chief John Lancaster was Barkawi's mole, kills him when he resists arrest. Trumbull tells Barkawi that his plan failed, moments before the United States Air Force attack his base with another drone strike, killing him.
Two weeks later, as London recovers, Banning is home spending time with Leah and their newborn child Lynne, named after Jacobs. As Banning contemplates sending a letter of resignation, he watches Trumbull speak on television regarding the recent events. Inspired, Banning deletes the letter.
==Cast==
* Gerard Butler as Secret Service Agent Mike Banning
* Aaron Eckhart as President Benjamin Asher
* Morgan Freeman as Vice President Allan Trumbull
* Alon Moni Aboutboul as Aamir Barkawi, a Pakistani international arms trafficker and terrorist mastermind who is No. 6 on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list.
* Angela Bassett as Secret Service Director Lynne Jacobs
* Robert Forster as US Army General Edward Clegg, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
* Jackie Earle Haley as White House Deputy Chief of Staff DC Mason
* Melissa Leo as Secretary of Defense Ruth McMillan
* Radha Mitchell as Leah Banning, Mike's wife.
* Sean O'Bryan as NSA Deputy Director Ray Monroe
* Charlotte Riley as MI6 Agent Jacquelin "Jax" Marshall
* Waleed Zuaiter as Kamran Barkawi, Aamir's son and sub-commander
* Colin Salmon as Commissioner Sir Kevin Hazard, head of the Metropolitan Police
* Bryan Larkin as SAS Captain Will Davies
* Patrick Kennedy as MI5 Counter-Intelligence Chief John Lancaster
* Mehdi Dehbi as Sultan Mansoor, the terrorist hacker
* Adel Bencherif as Raza Mansoor, Sultan's brother and a terrorist
* Michael Wildman as Secret Service Agent Voight
* Andrew Pleavin as Secret Service Agent Bronson
* Deborah Grant as Doris, Leah's mother
* Clarkson Guy Williams as British Prime Minister Leighton Clarkson
* Penny Downie as Home Secretary Rose Kenter
* Philip Delancy as French President Jacques Mainard
* Alex Giannini as Italian Prime Minister Antonio Gusto. It was Giannini's last movie role before his death in October 2, 2015.
* Elsa Mollien as Mrs Viviana Gusto
* Nancy Baldwin as German Chancellor Agnes Bruckner
* Nigel Whitmey as Canadian Prime Minister Robert Bowman
* Julia Montgomery Brown as Mrs Bowman
* Tsuwayuki Saotome as Japanese Prime Minister Tsutomu Nakushima
* Lawrence O'Donnell as himself (uncredited)
==Production==
===Casting===
Butler, Eckhart, Freeman, Bassett, Leo, Forster and Mitchell reprised their roles from Olympus Has Fallen. Production had been scheduled to begin in May 2015 in London, with Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt returning to write the script. Director Antoine Fuqua, however, did not return, due to his commitments with The Equalizer. On May 1, 2014, it was announced Focus Features had acquired distribution rights to the sequel, and would release the film on October 2, 2015. On August 18, 2014, it was announced that Charlie Countryman director Fredrik Bond would take over direction from Fuqua, but Bond left the film on September 18, six weeks before the shooting was to begin. On September 28, director Babak Najafi signed on to direct the film. On October 10, Jackie Earle Haley joined the film to play Deputy Chief Mason. On November 12, Mehdi Dehbi joined the film to play Sultan Mansoor, the youngest of three brothers whose life has been forever changed after a drone strike.
===Filming===
Principal photography began on October 24, 2014, in London. Four weeks of shooting were to take place, involving actors Freeman, Eckhart, Bassett and Melissa Leo, before a break for Christmas. Butler and Angela Bassett were seen filming in Somerset House. Butler stated in an interview that the movie was also filmed in India and was to continue in Bulgaria. Then President of Bulgaria, Rosen Plevneliev, visited the set of London Has Fallen during filming at Boyana Cinema Center in Bulgaria. Filming lasted through April 2015.
==Videos==
===Trailers===
thumb|center|335px|Official Trailer
==References==
==External links==
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* London Has Fallen at the Internet Movie Firearms Database
Category:2016 action thriller films
Category:2016 films
Category:2010s political thriller films
Category:American action thriller films
Category:American political thriller films
Category:American sequel films
Category:2010s English-language films
Category:Films about fictional presidents of the United States
Category:American films about revenge
Category:Films about Islamic terrorism
Category:Films about terrorism in Europe
Category:Films about MI6
Category:Films about the Special Air Service
Category:Films directed by Babak Najafi
Category:Films produced by Gerard Butler
Category:Films set in Essex
Category:Films set in London
Category:Films set in Manila
Category:Films set in Nevada
Category:Films set in New York City
Category:Films set in Pakistan
Category:Films set in the White House
Category:Films set in Tokyo
Category:Films set in Washington, D.C.
Category:Films set in Yemen
Category:Films set on the London Underground
Category:Films shot in Bulgaria
Category:Films shot in India
Category:Films shot in London
Category:Films about Delta Force
Category:MI5 in fiction
Category:FilmDistrict films
Category:Nu Image films
Category:Focus Features films
Category:Gramercy Pictures films
Category:Has Fallen
Category:Drone films
Category:Films about the United States Secret Service
Category:Films shot at Pinewood Studios
Category:2010s American films
Category:Rated R