Olympus Has Fallen

Starring: Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Dylan McDermott, Angela Bassett, Melissa Leo, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, Ashley Judd
Directed by: Antoine Fuqua
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Thriller
2013

Times Seen:
Tim: 1


Summary: After the White House is overtaken by terrorists, only a former Secret Service member (Gerard Butler) can stop the enemy and save the President (Aaron Eckhart).

Review:

Tim: 2013 featured dueling "White House in danger" movies, with both Olympus Has Fallen and White House Down. Olympus Has Fallen arrived first, had the better cast, arguably better director, and clearly won the box office battle. And yet, I'm shocked to say that I enjoyed White House Down more. That's pretty surprising. However, that doesn't detract too much away from this film. Olympus Has Fallen is still a good movie.

The idea of the White House being under attack is a fun concept for a popcorn flick. You can sit back and watch the chaos and the mayhem without any real-life consequences. I love action movies, and while this is a smaller scale, we see a lot of explosions, gunfights, and violence.

One of the slight issues I had with this film is that the story felt a bit farfetched. The idea that the White House could be overtaken by terrorists is a bit hard to believe, even in this post-9/11 world. I suppose it could feasibly happen, but it's one of the most secure structures on the planet. So immediately, the film requires some suspension of disbelief. The next question that this begs is, "Why would anyone take the risk? What would they hope to achieve?" The film works hard to give us a reason for overtaking the White House. I suppose in a way in kind of makes sense, but it's not especially memorable. Almost immediately after the film ended, I started forgetting what the terrorists were hoping to achieve. The film gives us just enough to know that they're "bad" and our hero needs to stop them. That part of the film felt a little thin.

One of the strengths, though, is that this action movie actually takes some time to let us connect with the human characters and understand their motivations. This has been done less and less in recent years, which is a big reason so many "blockbuster" films have failed. We have to care about the characters to make the danger feel real. This film does a great job of setting up the back story- Gerard Butler's character was close with the President, but after a fatal accident, he lost favor with the Commander-in-Chief (which is understandable). This whole crisis is a way for him to redeem himself, to prove he is worthwhile and valuable. That undercurrent gave the film a deeper meaning than just putting one-dimensional people in harm's way. I actually did care about Butler, and I wanted him to succeed.

Butler does a fairly good job here. This is the kind of movie he was made to do, and he works well as an action hero. Aaron Eckhart is very believable as the U.S. President. Many actors have played the President, but not every one can. Eckhart has the strength to do it, although he's saddled by a few poor lines and ridiculous situations, so he's not as effective as he otherwise would be. I always love seeing Morgan Freeman, and he gives a good performance as the Speaker of the House. Dylan McDermott was an unlikely choice, but I thought he worked really, really well. Melissa Leo normally annoys me, but there was only 4-5 times where she got on my nerves here (which is low for her). Radha Mitchell was a nice addition, but she was wasted as "the wife". The cast as a whole was actually really, really good, and it's one of the chief reasons this movie worked.

The action sequences are fairly strong in this film. There's a continual stream of gunfights, explosions, hand-to-hand combat, and a whole host of other action movie staples. Director Antoine Fuqua is comfortable filming action, and the sequences are more often than not, effective. I do feel like's a bit crazy how many people get shot in the head in this film. It felt like it happened every 5-6 minutes. There's definitely a lot of violence here.

While the movie felt a bit more lightweight than I would have liked, Olympus Has Fallen is an exciting, fun action movie. It's not a film that would ever get within a hundred miles of the top 10 movies of 2013, but it's a serviceable action film, and I had fun watching it.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Training Day, Wite House Down, Executive Decision, Air Force One