Olympus Has Fallen (2013)

I enjoyed watching Gerard Butler in movies like "The Bounty Hunter," "The Ugly Truth," "Law-Abiding Citizen," and even "Dracula 2000." When it comes to this, what can you possibly say? He can do action and he can do comedy, but this is neither. All it is is another dreaded attempt to try to get him to measure up to Bruce Willis...and it is a failure. Mr. Butler can certainly stand alone when it comes to action movies, that is for sure.Butler plays Secret Service agent Mike Banning, who is best friends with the President (Aaron Eckhart), the First Lady (Ashley Judd), and their son. To begin, he gets into a car accident after running into a deer, which ultimately claims the life of the First Lady. Fast forward a year and a half later and he still feels guilty about what happened, having taken a desk job after being removed from the Secret Service proper.He sulks about his so-called daily life with his wife/girlfriend Leah (Radha Mitchell). One day, things go sour when Washington D.C. is under attack by a band of North Koreans, killing everyone and destroying everything in sight before taking hold of the White House and doing the exact same thing. Fighting through his shame, Mike is called into action to kill the villains and save the President and anyone else of his staff who still happens to be alive. In a cliché with a capital C, he does just that, reunites with Leah and is redeemed by the President.In the end, I cannot begin to describe the many things that are wrong with this so-called movie. Antoine Fuqua, the very man who brought us the questionable "Training Day," puts Quentin Tarantino and John Woo to shame when it comes to hardcore action, explosions, and gratuitous violence. It certainly shows here, I'll tell you that. Granted I have no problems with any of those things, I was deeply disturbed by what I saw here. It seemed like there had to be blood and explosions everywhere you turned in this dreadful movie.I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. If you're going to watch a Gerard Butler movie, watch something like "The Ugly Truth" or "Law-Abiding Citizen." Those movies are more his speed than this. Trust me. Once was enough for me, thank you very much.

Plot: Disgraced Secret Service agent (and former presidential guard) Mike Banning finds himself trapped inside the White House in the wake of a terrorist attack; using his inside knowledge, Banning works with national security to rescue the President from his kidnappers.This film is a great throwback to late 80s to early 90s action films, showcasing the action like it is, having likable characters, and having an interesting story. Gerard Butler proves he can be an action star with the right script and this is it. Mike Banning is a likable character that you care about and want to see get out alive. The rest of the cast also does a good job with their characters, especially our villain played by Rick Yune.Antoine Fuqua has shown in the past that he knows how to shoot action well which definitely shows in this film, especially the first big action set piece which was done a lot better here than in White House Down.Overall, Olympus Has Fallen is a really good throwback to classic action films, it has a great cast, great action, superb direction by Antoine Fuqua, and a simple premise that's not overly complicated. Give this a chance if you haven't, you won't regret it.

This is a pure action film with a very clear one-dimensional story-line. There is a villain out to take the White House (Olympus) and a hero to avert him and save the POTUS. I would say that despite the simplicity of the story-line, the film is gripping, to say the least. There is a sense of urgency, a sense of foreboding cunningly crafted into the narrative which makes you root for the good guy. Gerard Butler is as usual the tough Secret Agent who cannot die or lose. I would have liked the other subplots (for example Butler's girlfriend) to have gotten more attention. This is not a serious film with a layered plot. It is a genre film with obvious plot holes and inconsistensies, but they hardly matter when the drama is so well enacted and tightly scripted. I would have rated it a score of 6.5 but the system doesn't allow that. Overall, a nice action film that delivers with grace.

Marketed as "Die Hard in the White House", the plot of this action thriller has a lone Secret Service agent taking on North Korean terrorists who have invaded the White House (codename Olympus), holding the President hostage. The film features several gripping action scenes and some of the smaller moments (a bullet-ridden US flag) are very effective, however, the project would have benefited from all the 'Die Hard' parallels being far less pronounced. As it is, Gerard Butler sorely lacks the charisma Bruce Willis brought to the iconic 1988 film, there is significantly less comic relief, and try as Rick Yune does with the part, he is no Hans Gruber. Issues of credibility weigh heavily more against 'Olympus Has Fallen' too; whereas Willis only had to take on board a handful of terrorists in 'Die Hard', here Butler comes off almost without scratch after intense encounters with three or four times as many antagonists! To the film's credit, it does at least attempt to throw some character study in the midst with Butler haunted by an earlier incident in which he was able to save the President, but not his wife, in a road accident. Butler's rapport with the President's son feels very real too. Then again, the film never maximises the potential of Butler and the son knowing all the ins and outs and secret passageways of the White House. Butler's big advantage here is his training rather than his insider knowledge, which in turns renders the film far less interesting than it could have been even if there is a nary a boring moment in the action-packed ride.