Mike Banning realizes that an approaching flock of birds is really something far more dangerous (namely, a bunch of drones) in a new clip from Angel Has Fallen. Audiences were introduced to Gerard Butler’s Secret Service Agent in 2013’s Olympus Has Fallen, a modestly-successful throwback to pulpy 1980s and ’90s action movies like Die Hard and Air Force One. It was followed by a sequel in 2016 titled London Has Fallen, which grossed more at the box office but was derided by critics for its made-for-cable feel and blatant Islamophobia.

Now, Butler is back as Banning for this month’s Angel Has Fallen. Directed by stunt coordinator-turned helmsman Ric Roman Waugh (Snitch), the film sends Banning on the run after he’s framed for an assassination attempt against U.S. president Alan Trumbull (Morgan Freeman, whose character was Speaker of the House and then VP in the previous movies). It’s a change of pace from the prior two films, where Banning had to defend now-former President Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart) from first a guerrilla assault on the White House, then a terrorist attack in London.

Screen Rant is exclusively debuting a clip from Angel Has Fallen, ahead of its release in theaters in a couple weeks. You can check it out in the space below.

The clip offers a sneak peek at the attack on Trumbull’s life in Angel Has Fallen, which takes place while the president is enjoying what was supposed to be a relaxing fishing trip. It has the same serious-goofy feel as the Mike Banning movies before it, but the film’s spectacle already looks like a step up from London Has Fallen’s action and seems to tap into Waugh’s years of experience with practical effects and stunts. Angel Has Fallen’s trailers have painted the threequel as being more grounded than its predecessors, so it’s good to know it’s not above silliness like sending a flock of drones after its heroes, either.

Admittedly, the Has Fallen series isn’t the first action franchise that’s tried to change-up its formula by taking a leaf from The Fugitive’s playbook like this; in fact, Taken did the exact same thing just four years ago in Taken 3. Still, the Mike Banning movies have always drawn inspiration from the popular action tropes of the ’80s and ’90s, so it only makes sense that they would eventually crib from another Harrison Ford vehicle (itself, of course, based on the ’60s TV show) besides Air Force One. That probably won’t do the film any favors with critics, but it may allow Angel Has Fallen to provide some decent late-August entertainment.

  • Angel Has Fallen Release Date: 2019-08-23