Angel Has Fallen: Steelbook Edition - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Angel Has Fallen: Steelbook Edition

Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:



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Movie
I’m going to admit, I kind like the “Has Fallen” franchise for the six years when they were pumping them out. 2013’s Olympus Has Fallen acted as a sort of reinvigorating of Gerard Butler’s career as it competed with White House Down for “best Die Hard Clone of 2013”. It was silly, goofy, filled with sarcastic one liners, and lots of brutal action. Gerard played the tough guy role well enough, and I have embarrassingly probably watched Olympus at least 10 times in the last decade (though I’ve almost watched White House Down as many times as well). London Has Fallen was an OK film, but it suffered much the same fate as Ocean’s 12. It was in a different country, with different stakes, and really felt more like an offshoot to the original film rather than a sequel to the secret service super duper commando that is Gerard Butler’s Mike Banning. However, Angel Has Fallen goes back to the roots, with Banning having to protect the President’s life one more time, albeit with a bit of a twist.

After getting back into the Secret Service after the events of the first film, Agent Mike Banning is at the top of his career arc. He’s just about to be handed the job of Secret Service Director, but Mike has a few demons he’s struggling with. He’s got some physical ailments and an addiction to pain pills that he’s trying to keep secret from everyone around him, so when the leader of a paramilitary organization under contract with the U.S. government decides to go rogue and assassinate President Trumbull (Morgan Freeman) he’s left as the primary suspect. Now, on the road and trying to clear his name, Mike has to meet up with his estranged father (Nick Nolte) and figure out a way to get to his old buddy who is spearheading the coup (played by Danny Huston) and put him six feet under before the FBI and the rest of the Secret Service hunt him down first.

Angel Has Fallen is nothing special as an action movie, and definitely not a GREAT sequel to 2013’s Olympus Has Fallen. But at the same time it’s not a bad action movie either. Director Ric Roman Waugh does his best to give us a streamlined and straight forward actioneer, filled with plenty of explosions, gunfights, and betrayal. Nothing is really kept from the audience or a “shocker” at all, but it’s rather competently written and directed compared to many others. Gerard looks a bit tired and worn out here compared to previous outings, which may have to do with him tiring of the action role, OR it could have been directorial choice as Banning is written as kind of a tired and worn out guy as well. Either way, he feels a bit flat here.

The highlight of the film is actually Nick Nolte’s action scene, with Nick chewing up the scenery with his growling gravely voice, while lighting things on fire and setting off more explosive charges than the Unibomber. But, at the end of the day, Angel Has Fallen is a pretty fun mindless popcorn film. I’m easily amused with action flicks, but I’m also one of those guys who isn’t into all the DTV sequels with no good choreography and STUPID low budget either. While Angel Has Fallen may not exactly be Die Hard 3, but it’s a solid enough 3rd entry into the Has Fallen franchise if you want something big, dumb, fun, and stupid.



Rating:

Rated R for violence and language throughout.




4K Video: Video:

Shot using Arri Alexa cameras and finished with a native 4K digital intermediate for the home video release, Angel Has Fallen still looks pretty stinking good, even though it was during the first few years of 4K UHD’s life span. The distinctly digital shoot looks clean and glossy, with deep inky blacks and a very crisp looking image that is slightly “faded” on purpose. Colors really pop with the HDR application, and A/Bing the Blu-ray with the 4K UHD I noticed a fairly large uptick in textural details from 1080p to 2160p. One thing that really stood out as noticeable was how they very much relied on fake digital “grain” to replicate the look of the first film, especially when a bright backdrop is prevalent (it’s less noticeable in the night time shots). Overall this is a very nice looking 4K UHD with a hefty upgrade over an already great looking Blu-ray. Outside of a few low budget effects and backgrounds (the fight in the streets and the rooftop “mano e mano” fight look a bit fake due to the CGI backgrounds), the disc is near perfect (and also a direct replica of the 2019 disc. Nothing is new here).








Audio:

Whether you like the movie or not, Angel Has Fallen is hard to criticize in the audio department. Lionsgate has outfitted both the Blu-ray (included) and the 4K UHD with a killer Atmos mix that is your typical aggressive actioneer type of mix. Things go boom, the surrounds are filled with near constant activity ranging from the shrieking of drones to the slamming sound of M4 bolts slamming shut over and over again. Bass is tight and clean, with some serious slam when needed, but also isn’t an over aggressive bass bomb say like Godzilla 2014. Overheads get some great activity with the drone strike near the beginning of the movie and the film’s ability to just literally encompass you in the battles is awe inspiring. Great sound that is NEARLY perfect (personally I would have liked a little more bass)







Extras:

• Even Heroes Fall: The Story
• Someone to Watch Over Me: New Blood
• Call All Angels: Casting
• True Faith: Authenticity
• Fights For You: Stunts and Action
• Earth Angel: Recreating DC
• Angel Declassified

Final Score: ​

Being that Angel Has Fallen released a little less than 5 years ago there’s not much to add as a summary, but I still enjoy it as a mindless popcorn film (minus Jada Pinkett-Smith, who is about as likable in her roll as…..well….real life Jada Pinkett-Smith). Being that Best Buy lost the contract for Lionsgate Steelbooks, this particular steelbook can only be found at Walmart, and is actually pretty snazzy for a steelbook. The cover art is a muted and tamped down color palette that looks clean and clutter free (artistically speak) and the discs even have new silk screening on them. My only “complaint” is the over lapping disc structure that most steelbooks use (I much prefer the “one on one side of the case, the other on the other side”), but that’s merely nitpicking cuz I’m an retentive collector. People who already have the 4K UHD won’t really NEED to upgrade as the discs are identical, UNLESS they’re into steelbook collecting. Otherwise, fun popcorn watch for those who want to grab this.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Tim Blake Nelson, Danny Huston, Piper Perabo, Nick Nolte
Directed by: Ric Roman Waugh
Written by: Robert Mark Kamen, Matt Cook, Ric Roman Waugh
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), French, Spanish DD 5.1, English DD 2.0 DVS
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: Lionsgate
Rated: R
Runtime: 121 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: July 2nd, 2024

Recommendation: Fun Watch