Angel Has Fallen Review: 6 Ups & 4 Downs

3. The Ensemble Cast Is (Mostly) Wasted

Like the two films before it, Angel Has Fallen boasts an utterly enviable cast that's clearly just here for the paycheck, and though most of them seem game to chew through some daft dialogue, they largely aren't given much to do beyond tear through exposition.

This is especially true of the fantastic Tim Blake Nelson, who does barely anything beyond sit around in a fancy suit and occasionally regurgitate trite political dialogue.

Jada Pinkett Smith meanwhile commits to her role as an FBI agent chasing Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) down, but she's never given anything to truly sink her teeth into.

Elsewhere, Lance Reddick makes an appearance as the Secret Service Director, but sadly doesn't get much to do, as is especially disappointing following his unexpectedly action-packed role in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.

And finally, there's Piper Perabo, who replaces Radha Mitchell as Banning's wife Leah. Granted, the character has never had much of a role in these films, but she's never quite felt this much of a passive wife, now saddled with a baby to hold for the entire movie.

Mercifully, at least, the script subverts the typical cliche of wife and baby being kidnapped in the third act.