London Has Fallen Blu-ray Review

The Blu-ray presentation of "London Has Fallen" features a robust 1080p transfer that, while not exemplary, performs competently overall. The film's second half, predominantly set in dimly lit environments, presents some challenges for color vibrancy and depth, often leading to less pronounced detailing. In contrast, the earlier segments of the film, characterized by brighter and better-defined scenes, offer more texture and complexity in both skin and clothing details. London’s expansive overhead shots are sharply defined, capturing the essence of city streets, buildings, and minute environmental elements effectively. Colors throughout the film are generally pleasing and diverse, from striking yellows and pinks in an opening gathering to vivid orange fireballs during action sequences. However, noise is intermittently visible and can occasionally spike, primarily in darker scenes.

Despite its high-quality camera origins—the movie was shot digitally using Epic RED Dragon cameras—the transfer suffers from periodic digital noise, particularly noticeable in nighttime scenes. These darker segments occasionally exhibit slight crush, but not to the extent that critical visual information is lost. Aliasing is another minor issue, evident early in the film with noticeable artifacts during camera pans over high-contrast elements. Thankfully, banding and macroblocking are absent, offering a cleaner visual experience. While some scenes like those set in well-lit domestic settings are particularly well-rendered with highly defined facial features and sharp imagery, others fall short, revealing limitations in special effects and green-screen applications. Overall, the transfer manages to deliver a satisfying visual performance that has more strengths than weaknesses.

The audio presentation of "London Has Fallen" on Blu-ray offers a highly immersive and engaging experience, particularly through its featured DTS:X soundtrack. Even when decoded as a 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track, users can anticipate robust, dynamic soundscapes characterized by deep, rich lows and vivid sonic quality. The aggressive surround usage ensures that action scenes are delivered with exhilarating energy, showcasing the track's potent composition. Explosions, gunfire, and other forms of mayhem are reproduced with visceral impact, shaking the room and providing a sense of being in the midst of the chaos without detracting from the overall film experience.

Highs are piercing and clear, while the bass frequencies are thunderous, making full use of the subwoofer. Overhead channels are engaged selectively but effectively, adding a thrilling dimension to scenes like car flips that seem to come alive in the listening area. While light atmospherics take a backseat to the film’s aggressive nature, they still feature subtly in calmer sequences, contributing to the locale's realism. The music score remains intense and clear throughout, helping maintain an immersive atmosphere even during the most frenzied moments.

Dialogue clarity is generally well-prioritized, though it occasionally falters amid the loudest action scenes, requiring some volume adjustments. While not entirely reference quality, this track stands as a testament to aggressive audio mastery in action films. Additional audio options include a 2.0 DTS Headphone:X track for those using headphones and a Spanish 5.1 DTS Surround track. Subtitles are provided in English SDH, Spanish, and French. Overall, "London Has Fallen" delivers an audio experience that is bound to satisfy fans of high-intensity soundscapes and impactful directionality in action-oriented cinema.

The Blu-ray extras for "London Has Fallen" provide a solid array of content for enthusiasts. The featurettes delve deep into the production aspects, with "The Making of London Has Fallen" offering insights from key cast and crew members, including Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, and Director Babak Najafi. This segment covers the sequel's direction, plot evolution, and the logistics behind the film's impressive action sequences and set pieces. Meanwhile, "Guns, Knives & Explosives" offers a focused look at the intricacies involved in crafting the film’s major action scenes and stunt work. An additional inclusion is a set of trailers for other Universal releases. Additionally, there's a DVD copy of the film and a voucher for a UV/iTunes digital copy.

Extras included in this disc:

• The Making of London Has Fallen: Behind-the-scenes insights featuring cast and crew comments.
• Guns, Knives & Explosives: Examination of action sequences and stunt work.
• Previews: Trailers for several other Universal films.

"London Has Fallen" revisits Secret Service agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) as he provides security for President Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart) during a funeral in London. This installment unfortunately falls short of its predecessor, "Olympus Has Fallen," which brought a revitalized survival-action style reminiscent of "Die Hard." The sequel amplifies the scale by targeting London, but the increase in scope fails to bring any meaningful enhancements, and instead results in a film bogged down by derivative plot points and lackluster execution. The narrative attempts to build on the original's success but instead offers up a perfunctory script that is driven more by explosions and noise than deep characterization or thrilling action sequences.

Banning’s journey, complete with predictable plot points and unimaginative villains, mirrors familiar tropes seen in lesser action films. The absurd plotting, such as the remarkably easy infiltration by terrorists into British military and police forces, stretches believability to its limits. Character development takes a substantial hit, with either one-dimensional portrayals or characters taking implausible actions that do little to engage the audience emotionally. The portrayal of world leaders encapsulated in absurdly deficient security scenarios underscores the film's failure to elevate tension or credibility.

Technically, "London Has Fallen" suffers from subpar CGI and poorly orchestrated visual effects that stand in sharp contrast to the high stakes the movie tries to portray. Director Babak Najafi’s lack of experience with such a high-budget project is evident, marking a regression from Fuqua's more adept handling in the first film. Despite an ensemble cast including Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, and Melissa Leo, the script does not utilize their talents effectively, leaving their roles underdeveloped. While action scenes and explosions are intended to captivate, they come across as hollow without the necessary narrative support, resulting in a predominantly vacuous cinematic experience.

"London Has Fallen" on Blu-ray offers an adrenaline-packed continuation of the franchise, albeit with several shortcomings. As a direct sequel to "Olympus Has Fallen," the film is laden with intense action sequences that, while visually captivating, are undermined by a lackluster storyline and shallow character development. Even the performances of seasoned actors like Morgan Freeman cannot elevate the film beyond its flawed narrative and clichéd dialogue. The predictable plot, marred by implausible scenarios, significantly detracts from any genuine excitement or engagement.

Technically, the Blu-ray delivers excellence in audiovisual quality. The movie’s high-octane action is complemented by superior audio fidelity and robust surround sound, which fully immerses viewers in the chaos unfolding on screen. The video quality maintains consistency, presenting clear and crisp visuals that highlight the action set pieces. Supplementary content on the Blu-ray is sparse but adequately informative, providing moderate behind-the-scenes insight for enthusiasts.

In conclusion, while “London Has Fallen” may satisfy those seeking a casual action fix, it falls short of becoming a memorable entry within the genre. The Blu-ray’s technical merits are noteworthy, particularly in audio and visual performance, making it suitable for a rental rather than an outright purchase. Recommended primarily for die-hard fans of the first film.