‘Angel Has Fallen’: Gerard Butler easy to root for, even when the movie isn’t

Gerard Butler boasts an engaging screen presence that can make even junky movies fun. Maybe it’s the blustery swagger or his jokey attitude that essentially screams, “I’m not taking any of this too seriously.”

Either way, it works, especially in “Angel Has Fallen,” the latest entry in the actor’s franchise built around Mike Banning, a heroic Secret Service agent who continually bails the president out of life-threatening jams.

We first met Mike in 2013’s “Olympus Has Fallen,” a genuinely effective bit of pulp. Subtle it’s not, but it will grab you: The film hits a hysterical high point when the secretary of defense is dragged on the ground by terrorists while she’s shouting the Pledge of Allegiance.

“Angel” is never as over the top — or as good — as that movie, but it moves along at a quick clip and Mike remains the kind of old-school hero for whom it’s easy to root.

Here, he’s battling an addiction to opioids — ooh, how very today of the filmmakers — brought on by too many on-the-job injuries. Mike muses with an old friend (Danny Huston) about growing older and considers becoming director of the Secret Service, which would put him behind a desk. “If I had my way, I would keep hard-charging till the day I die,” Mike exclaims.

Of course, before that can happen, the president (Morgan Freeman, getting a promotion from the previous films) is the target of a dazzling drone attack that wipes out all the agents on duty except for Mike. The president winds up hospitalized in a coma.

Mike is accused of orchestrating the attack; after all, how was he the only agent who survived? He’s been framed to look like he’s in cahoots with the Russians, which leads to Mike escaping federal custody (another pulse-racing moment) and trying to both stay ahead of the FBI and save the commander in chief, who is obviously in danger.

Director Ric Roman Waugh, who made the superior prison drama “Shot Caller,” never lets the pace flag, even though the tone can be all over the place. There’s some broad comedy as Mike hides out at the cabin of his Vietnam veteran dad (Nick Nolte, phlegmy and funny). A couple of plot twists surprise; on the other hand, the identity of the villain is telegraphed so early it’s basically a non-issue.

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You’ve also got some rather ropy dialogue to contend with. Jada Pinkett Smith plays a dogged FBI agent who is hunting down Mike when she suddenly has a revelation midway through: “What if Banning was being set up?” Moments like this make you long for the comparative sophistication of an “NCIS: Los Angeles.”

The movie also has that vaguely discomforting atmosphere that sometimes occurs when a film is shot somewhere other than where it’s supposed to be. “Angel Has Fallen” was filmed in Bulgaria and the United Kingdom, with neither capturing the requisite made-in-America vibe.

Still, before the credits roll, the movie achieves what it sets out to do, especially for viewers who have been here for each part of the trilogy. Is “Angel Has Fallen” the kind of thing you’ll remember in a year? Probably not, but it will keep you entertained for a couple of hours on an August night, and that’s all it’s aiming for. Mission accomplished.