Olympus Has Fallen

If you like action-packed thrillers, you’re going to enjoy Director Antoine Fuqua’s Olympus Has Fallen.

 

After a shocking opening event involving a major film star reminiscent of how Kathryn Bigelow used some stars in The Hurt Locker, protagonist Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) is taken off the President’s Detail and relegated to a desk job at the Treasury Department in an office with a view of the White House.

A year and a half later, he’s still smarting from the situation despite being married to Leah, played by the beautiful Radha Mitchell.  Tough life.

 

The day after Independence Day, when terrorists take over the White House and kidnap the President, Mike has the opportunity to redeem himself and it’s non-stop action from there on.



I must say that I’ve never been a fan of Gerard Butler, but Olympus Has Fallen is his coming-of-right-genre film in the same way Taken was for Liam Neeson.  Backed up by a solid supporting cast, including Melissa Leo (one of the hardest working actors there is) as the Secretary of Defense, Morgan Freeman as the Speaker of the House, Angela Bassett as the Head of the Secret Service and Rick Yune as the head terrorist, Butler joins the ranks of the finest action heroes.

 

What I especially like about Fuqua’s work is that good guys and bad guys alike fight without compromise and don’t make the stupid mistakes that too often mar action films. 

 

On the minus side, I will call him out on a matter of protocol…putting both the President and VP in the same safe-room, which I don’t think would be allowed by the Secret Service and wasn’t necessary scriptwise…and a matter of policy…having a General, who should have been fired for his stupid actions, appear in the final sequence as if he were still in good standing.

And, yes, some of the dialogue was trite, but I still give Olympus Has Fallen a solid 4 out of 5.

The problem with many reviewers is that they see films in small screening rooms and don't feel the response of a real audience, which, as in this case, cheered the action.