Over the years, “300” star Gerard Butler has gone from being a guaranteed romcom hit to a popular action star. Three of his most popular lead orgies are now available as a subscription on Amazon Prime Video.
Of course, it’s always a joy when action films create a spectacle – and burn themselves into the memory with creative moments that you’ve never seen before. But let’s be honest: Often, good old-school action blockbusters are just the thing!
This is also demonstrated by the popularity of straight one-against-all hits, which Liam Neeson and Gerard Butler regularly throw at us. The charismatic Scot laid the foundation for his successful career as a one-man army with „Olympus Has Fallen“ (2013), which you can now stream with a subscription on Amazon Prime Video:
“Olympus Has Fallen” on Amazon Prime Video*
Initially, the first appearance of agent Mike Banning, played by Butler, was primarily known for being the counterpart to the similarly-minded “White House Down” by Roland Emmerich, which was released in the same year – so the duo also ended up in our big special of twin films.
To be honest, there is no danger of confusion – at least not anymore. While Emmerich tends to play it safe when it comes to violence in order to reach as wide an audience as possible, director Antoine Fuqua (“The Equalizer”, “Shooter”) traditionally takes no prisoners – and offers comparatively lavish bloodshed in his film. But above all, the two films now differ in another respect: While “White House Down” is a stand-alone film, “Olympus Has Fallen” has now launched an entire franchise.
In „London Has Fallen“ (also new on Prime Video) After the mysterious death of the British Prime Minister, Banning ends up in England as the bodyguard of the US President (Aaron Eckhart), where, as in the first film, he soon has to deal with terrorists.
“London Has Fallen” on Amazon Prime Video*
Also available on Amazon’s own streaming platform: “Angel Has Fallen“ – in which Mike Banning not only thwarts the plans of some shady characters once again, but also ends up becoming their target himself.
“Angel Has Fallen” on Amazon Prime Video*
If you like one, you like them all
Even though each chapter was directed by a different director – “London” by Babak Najafi (“Proud Mary”), “Angel” by “Greenland” and “Kandahar” maker Ric Roman Vaugh – the trilogy always follows the same principle. Similar to a TV series in which the pilot episode (often directed by the series creator himself) sets the style for the future, Najafi and Vaugh also follow the pattern established by Fuqua.
In the end, all three parts deliver predictable in content, but quite competently staged action cinema of the old school for everyone who still can’t get enough of “Die Hard” clones, even 35 years after Bruce Willis’ first appearance as John McClane. Among the countless copycats that followed John McTiernan’s milestone, the “Has Fallen” are certainly among the better ones.
By the way: The franchise is far from over! After plans for an expansion in the form of several TV series were announced years ago, the first trailer for the spin-off “Paris Has Fallen” was recently released:
Action franchise with Gerard Butler is being expanded: First trailer for the series “Paris Has Fallen”
*The links to Amazon’s offers are so-called affiliate links. If you make a purchase via these links, we receive a commission.
