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Rating: 4 out of 5
I LOVE action films that are complete and utter chaos. Explosions, gunfights, brutal deaths, and everything else are what I am all about. Movies such as Die Hard, Predator, John Wick, and so many others, to name a few. One movie I saw in the theaters, and that has been on PlutoTV quite a bit lately, is Olympus Has Fallen. That film hits all the right notes for me as an action-adventure fan. When you need a man to roll up and save the country from mayhem, you call on Gerard Butler or Jason Statham. Both seem to make the same films where they kick ass and take names.
What is this masterpiece of action-adventure film about? You might think Olympus is where the Greek Gods live and that it has fallen into ruins. Well, yes, Olympus is where the Greek Gods live, or Mount Olympus, but this doesn’t deal with them. This is a political action thriller where a North Korean guerrilla group assaults and takes over the White House and captures the President of the United States. Only one man can stop them from achieving their goal. Yup, that is the premise. You want to know more? I am happy to tell you.
Well, the film starts with Mike Banning (Butler), a former badass U.S. Army Ranger who works as a Secret Service agent. He is cool and has a close friendship with President Asher (Eckhart), First Lady Margaret (Ashley Judd), and their young son, Connor. During a snowstorm, the President must give a speech, and on the way, the car loses control on a bridge. Mike manages to save President Asher, but the limousine drops, and Margaret is killed. DAMN! Eighteen months later, Mike is exiled and assigned to the Treasury Department.
At the White House, President Asher is about to meet with South Korean Prime Minister Lee Tae-Woo. Shit goes down when a North Korean terrorist group, commanded by Kang Yeonsak (Yune), executes one of the wildest attacks on Washington, DC. They manage to capture President Asher and several of his top officials. One of the agents reports to the Pentagon that “Olympus has fallen.” Little do the terrorists know that Banning has infiltrated the White House, and he is about to kick so much ass and take no names.
This film is violent and over-the-top, but I love it, and it portrays some things well. For example, when the terrorists attacked D.C., First, seeing the plane fly low and start blasting everyone and ruining the Washington monument was crazy to watch, but also the attack on the White House. It is brutal to watch as the White House is stormed and seeing Secret Service get massacred. The one telling scene is when the terrorist pulls down the U.S. flag and tosses it to the ground. After the attack, the story focuses on Banning’s efforts to reach the President and save him. Banning goes beast mode on everyone. I love watching how Banning takes out person after person. Dude is ruthless at it. The whole scene when he is interrogating some of the terrorists is intense cause dude straight up stabs one person and then jokes about it. The action and violence don’t let up until the final moments. If you are an action junkie, this is a great film.
The acting was on point with this film. First, Butler was AWESOME. Dude has found his place as an action star and just gets it with his intensity. Butler made Banning a freakin badass and someone you really didn’t want to mess with. He got angry sometimes, but dude was calm and clearheaded. He knew his mission and carried it out with extreme prejudice. You attack his boy, and you best believe he was going to whip your ass.
Aaron Eckhart, as Benjamin Asher, was cool, but he didn’t move the needle for me. Dude spent most of his time handcuffed and yelling at the evil dude. It was good acting because as the President, you would hope he would be defiant, but he did also fold like twice. His Secretary of Defense was more of a badass. When you need a cool dude with a subtle voice but can bring on some intensity, you call on Morgan Freeman. Freeman played Allan Trumbull, the Speaker of the House, and he took control. Still, when homeboy questioned him, Freeman brought out Trumbull’s anger in a fantastic way.
Let me give a big up to Rick Yune as Kang Yeonsak. I hope he doesn’t get typecast because he is a great actor. During this role, he made Kang someone in complete control, calm but also ruthless when needed. Finally, the Queen Mother herself, Angela Bassett as Lynne Jacobs, Director of the Secret Service. Bassett is always great in her roles. Even though this was a minor role, she made her presence known in the war room. I love Angela Bassett.
Now, many people will say that this film is overtly violent, that the story is a Die Hard rip-off, and blah, blah, blah. Stop being overcritical and enjoy an action film. Hell, I hope many of us know that the only time the White House was burned to the ground was in the War of 1812. This story is fantastic because it makes you wonder whether our national defenses are up. What happens if someone plans and really attacks and takes over the White House? Will Butler be on call to save the day? Watch this fantastic film and see what could happen if the White House falls.
