It’s funny. I’ve seen the White House blown up in several action movies, and my response is usually, “Oh gee! I hope they got the china out in time.” But when I see the towers of Westminster Abbey go down, I am outraged! My greatest desire is that our heroes hunt down and savagely kill those mother-loving terrorists! I have similar affection for Harrods.

Why it pains me more to see England’s capitol ravaged than our own, I have no idea. But I do know I found it tremendously entertaining to see the good looking and buff President of the United States (Aaron Eckhart) and his roguishly handsome personal body guard (Gerard Butler) try to overcome ridiculously daunting odds to save themselves and the world, all the while cracking wise and skulls. Meanwhile, I can rest assured that the US is in good hands back home, under the guidance of a sage Vice President (Morgan Freeman). Ass will be kicked.

Sure there’s a lot of violence, explosions, shootings, slashing, slayings car crashes/chases and more. These elements usually annoy me, but since the film doesn’t take itself too seriously and is in glorious 2D, they feel distant. I’m also prone to worrying about all the collateral damage in films of this nature. “Who’s gonna clean that up?” I wonder. But as London falls here, we do not see scads of innocent bystanders being bloodily blown to bits–no body parts plopping down on the cement or lone toddlers crying for Mommy. The more graphic violence is reserved for the bad guys. And when one of the heroes goes down, she dies elegantly, with hair and makeup beautifully intact.

London Has Fallen takes up where Olympus Has Fallen left off, a surprisingly satisfying follow-up to a film few suspected would have a sequel. While Antoine Fuqua, who directed the first, is more accomplished than Babak Najafi, who directed the second, the latter has taken all the right queues from the former. It’s just good, explosive, popcorn fun. There are worse ways to spend a Friday night.

Rated R

1 Hour 40 Minutes

Get times and tickets at Fandango.com

https://youtu.be/o2I7QOnCP9o

LONDON HAS FALLEN Review: Explosive Popcorn Fun