That Sneak Peek Moment in the London Has Fallen Trailer

The Film: London Has Fallen (2016)

What We Know So Far: A sequel to Olympus Has Fallen (2013), London Has Fallen sees United States President Asher (Aaron Eckhart) travel to England after the Prime Minister has died under mysterious circumstances. Along with him his Secret Service agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler), the hero of the first film, who become involved in an international terror plot that sees many world leaders lose their lives and a demand for the life of President Asher or more catastrophes will occur around the globe.

The Trailer: (Official #1)

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AsOdX7NcJs?rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0&w=920&h=415]

Our Take

Why do I like this trailer? Why does it make me want to see this film so badly? It’s a slickly-produced, wildly violent and over-the-top clip of booms and bangs that on any other day I would openly criticize as lazy destruction-porn. I admit that I really enjoyed the hopelessly silly Olympus Has Fallen, with its plot of North Korean unification terrorists taking over Washington D.C. That was because the filmmakers and the actors took it seriously with tongue firmly in cheek, a formula that worked remarkably well. Butler and Eckhart were spot-on in that film, but it was the supporting cast led by Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd and Melissa Leo who made it click. With this film, we have most of that cast returning and a few more surprises, including Jackie Earl Haley. The clip is a bombastic mess of fire and explosions and thunderous music and people in distress, all something I complained about seeing so much of before (including the highly misleading trailer for the wonderful Bridge of Spies). Here though, it works like a sugar rush. I want more. The film seems to embrace its scope and premise like a child in a candy store with a month’s advance on their allowance. Fortunately, I like candy.

What to Look For in the Trailer

Okay, so there is a lot going on here. It sets up the event very well, with all the leaders riding in to London in their pomp and circumstance while narration leads us to the well, with bits about it being the most protected event and such. It all has an authenticity to it that rings true and works well to build up to the inevitable attack. Amid all this, we have stalwart agent Mike Banning, who brings it all back to fantasy with every single line he says. He’s like a cutout comic book character posing in a New Yorker article. But it works just right. When another agent asks him: “What’s wrong?” He looks around and says: “Nothing. Bugs the hell outta me.” That’s the kind of man we want as our hero. So my Sneak Peek Moment comes when the lead terrorist Barkawi (Alon Aboutboul) tells him over the phone that he’s going to make the president suffer, Manning tells him, “You shoulda brought more men.” Now probably in the film these two conversation aren’t even connected, but the trailer implies they are and it’s fantastic. I know I’m going against much about what I typically stand for in movies, but this one seems to be a popcorn movie that knows it’s turning everything up to eleven.