OVERVIEW: Devastation of a world capital and a revenge plan against an American president fuel the high-octane London Has Fallen, coming to Digital HD on May 31, 2016, and Blu-ray™, DVD and On Demand on June 14, 2016 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. The sequel to the worldwide smash hit Olympus Has Fallen raises the stakes with non-stop action and suspenseful plot twists. The Blu-ray™ and Digital HD versions also include exclusive bonus features about the can’t-miss thriller.

SYNOPSIS: When the British Prime Minster dies unexpectedly, Secret Service Agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) knows it is his duty to prep with Secret Service Director Lynne Jacobs (Angela Bassett) for them to accompany U.S. President Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart) to the state funeral at St Paul’s Cathedral in London. With every powerful world leader set to attend, the funeral should be the most protected event on Earth. Yet within moments of arriving, heads of government are assassinated and London landmarks are attacked. Asher, Banning, and Jacobs are ambushed and retreat amidst a hail of gunfire and explosives. The devastated British capital goes into lockdown. Banning will stop at nothing to secure Asher’s safe return home. Back at the White House, Vice President Allan Trumbull (Morgan Freeman) races against time brainstorming with top advisors in the Situation Room to get those trapped in London a lifeline of support and a way out. Outnumbered and outgunned, Banning reaches out for help to an English MI6 agent (Charlotte Riley) who rightly trusts no one. Failure is not an option as they attempt to stop the criminals from carrying out the final phase of their revenge plan.

FILM REVIEW: Rarely does a second iteration of a film series outdo its predecessor, but every so often they get it right and this happens to be the case here. And while it seems like part one paid homage to the ’90s action films in the tone of “Die Hard,” this sequel appears to have up the ante with the action, more humor and mega-disaster sequences. Subsequently, little-known (Swedish) Director Babak Najafi proves to be a formidable player when it comes to comparing his work with director/writer Antoine Fuqua’s work on the original.

The action and dialog seems much more tightly crafted in comparison to the initial film (though I thought the original was pretty good already). Furthermore, the sequel does continue the great chemistry between Gerard Butler and Aaron Eckhart, whose charisma and surprising dramatic prowess elevate the material to the next level. I was especially impressed with the choices made to have the president engage the bad guys directly, rather than him just be another “damsel in distress needing to be saved.” This isn’t something we see in action movies often enough, if at all.

On the downside, it appears as though the producers shopped at 7-Eleven when it comes to their over reliance on the CGI in comparison to practical effects. Things were much too obvious, as being computer generated, and were worse than what one would expect from a B-movie or low-budget.

Nevertheless, on the basis of pure entertainment, “London Has Fallen” is quite rewarding and completely enjoyable, though one shouldn’t think too hard or look for anything but action and well placed comic relief. It’s merely for the action and entertainment value not some ground-breaking sub-plot or storyline.

All in all, I absolutely enjoyed this latest release. It’s an excellent mix of humor, action and great filming locale. It’s a fast paced flick which keeps one captivated throughout the ninety-nine minute runtime. Needless to say, this is certainly an excellent follow up to “Olympus Has Fallen.” So my hopes are for the folks behind this franchise are to ensure there will be a third installment. Four and a half stars out of five are well deserved here, with half star being taken away for sub-par CGI sequences

BLU-RAY: The film is presented in widescreen in a 2.40:1 aspect ration preserving its theatrical format. The picture is just flawless. Not only the picture looks great in this release, also the sound it is good, a 5.1 Dolby Digital in English that provides a good complement to the picture. It also includes  English, French  and Spanish subtitles.

VIDEO:
Widescreen (2.40:1) 16x9

AUDIO:
English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1/Dolby Digital 2.0

Subtitles - English SDH, Spanish and French

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Blu-ray™ unleashes the power of your HDTV and is the best way to watch movies at home, featuring 6X the picture resolution of DVD, exclusive extras and theater-quality surround sound.

DVD offers the flexibility and convenience of playing movies in more places, both at home and away.

DIGITAL HD with UltraViolet™ lets fans watch movies anywhere on their favorite devices. Users can instantly stream or download.

The Making of London Has Fallen – An inside look at the massive undertaking of shooting such a large-scale film in London. Featuring interviews with cast and crew, this piece shows the unique challenges encountered on-set, director Babak Najafi’s process, and the cast’s inspiration for their characterizations.

Guns, Knives & Explosives – Delve deeper into Gerard Butler’s iconic character of Mike Banning, and the extensive training and preparation the actor needed to play a Secret Service agent.