"Olympus Has Fallen" - directed by Antoine Fuqua
There's an elephant in the room for this review.
"Die Hard".
Every action movie that puts a lone hero in a specific location will be compared to the action classic.
In the case of "Olympus Has Fallen" it is a former Secret Service agent who is the only hope when the White House is overtaken by terrorists.
There are many, many similarities to the 1988 Bruce Willis classic - it is undeniable.
As for comparisons to the most recent installment in the Die Hard franchise (that would be part 5) there are thankfully very, very few.
The main difference between Die Hard 5 and "Olympus Has Fallen" is that the latter is very, very good.
In fact it does just about everything right that Die Hard 5 did wrong.
Firstly this is R rated.
I know- so was Die Hard 5 but unlike that movie "Olympus Has Fallen" wears it's classification with pride.
I honestly don't know why "Die Hard 5" got an R rating.
The cynic in me wants to think that it was a marketing ploy to try and fool action fans that they were getting an honest to God hardcore action flick.
We weren't.
So thank the movie Gods that "Oympus Has Fallen" is the real deal.
Profane, bloody, high octane, suspenseful good old fashioned crowd pleasing fun.
A lot of the success is down to the hero.
I had just about given up on Gerrard Butler.
He showed such promise with "300" but followed that career boosting role with a bunch of horrible romantic comedies.
Whenever he did dip his toe back into more testosterone laden affairs ("Gamer", "Law Abiding Citizen", "RocknRolla") the results were decent but not amazing.
"Olympus Has Fallen" puts him right back on track.
He plays Mike Banning a Secret Service agent very close to the President and First Lady.
After an accident in a storm he saves the President but cannot prevent the First Lady's death.
No one blames him- he clearly acted in exactly the right way.
But that doesn't mean that anyone up to and including the President wants him around on a daily basis to remind them of the tragedy.
So 18 months later he is working in a boring desk job at the US Treasury.
Conveniently this is located just across the street from the White House.
When 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is struck by a freak 30mm cannon shell storm courtesy of a terrorist controlled Hercules C130 gunship Banning is right there ready to act.
After a very exciting action sequence lasting something like fifteen minutes the smoke clears to reveal dozens of corpses on, in and around the White House and Banning the only good guy left alive in the place not in terrorist hands.
The President and his closest staff are in the secure bunker held hostage by the terrorists.
Before any of this has happened we have a setup scene in which we see the motor accident that claims the First Lady's life.
The bond between Banning and the President, his wife and son is shown.
More importantly the film reveals a pretty slick script with some decent writing.
It is quite witty and does a great job of introducing a fair number of characters, all of whom will have important parts to play in future events.
Before a shot had been fired I was relatively optimistic about the quality of this film then.
I was not wrong.
Finally someone has made the sort of action movie that we all loved in the eighties.
I am talking about the original Die Hard movies (and even the third one in 1994) and the likes of the first two Lethal Weapons.
As much as I like Stallone's Expendables flicks there is no denying that they are cartoony, goofy fun as opposed to 'serious' action films.
To be fair the 2008 "Rambo" is fantastic but that was five years ago.
We have been starved of genuinely suspenseful, hardcore action fare and "Olympus Has Fallen" steps up to the plate admirably.
Being a 2013 movie it brings modern visual effects to the table too.
The C130 attack and the subsequent ground action is pretty gonzo stuff.
The scene shown in the trailer where the C130 loses a wing against the Washington Monument and slams into the ground in a firey ball is just one spectacular portion of this action set piece.
Big budget CGI is all well and good but without a decent story to go along with it what's the point?
Fortunately "Olympus Has Fallen" doesn't put a foot wrong for all of its two hours.
If you are worried when the President's young son becomes a central character- don't be.
Concerned that the traitor in the midst might become a cliched, corny bore?
No problem - apart from a noticeable Die Hard 'Bill Clay' moment it is handled very, very nicely and with some believability.
The script is smart enough to take anything that could get in the way of its main intention and carefully positioning them not to.
And that main intention so far as I can tell is to let Gerrard Butler's Mike Banning loose on about 30 terrorists.
He stabs, tortures, head-shoots, neck-snaps and beats to a pulp at the rate of about one every two minutes.
And this character shows no respect to anyone on either side that gets in his way.
If they are part of the problem he has no time for them.
This movie well and truly shows "Die Hard 5" what is what and that extends to the dialogue as well.
There's a corker of an exchange between Rick Yune's nasty head villain Kang and Banning in which the latter offers to play a very particular game with him.
I'm not going to spoil it and you will definitely know it when you hear it.
It is just one of the many squirm with joy moments that make this film such an audience pleasing treat.
Casting overall is very strong with Aaron Eckhart as the President, a still gorgeous Ashley Judd as the First Lady and a host of great actors in supporting roles.
Radha Mitchell, Melissa Leo, Morgan Freeman, Robert Forster, Dylan McDermott and Cole Hauser all turn in solid performances.
I didn't recognise Leo until well into the movie long after I had become impressed with her work.
Some roles might be a little predictable with traitors, incompetent military types and one dimensional villains but nothing that induces groans.
There might be a fair amount of action movie cliche but there is a very deliberate attempt to avoid a lot too.
It's nice to see Banning happily married despite his personal demons.
Sure, he and wife Leah (Radha Mitchell) have some problems but they are still very much together.
Rick Yune does a fine job with a character that isn't a quarter as developed as the king daddy of action villains - Hans Gruber.
But the important thing is that we hate him and bay for his blood and this is certainly achieved.
It's hard to believe that screenwriters Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedict have only this movie to their credit.
It is solid, solid stuff.
Made for $70 million this has already earned more than that back domestically and will no doubt generate somewhere in the region of 60% of it's overall haul Internationally.
Looks like a $300 million kind of hit to me.
And so it should be- "Olympus Has Fallen" is a genuine action movie fans film.
In a world where Die Hard can't do it anymore it's a relief to find a movie that will happily, bloodily step up and take its place.
A lot of times that you think you know exactly what is going to happen you will be wrong.
Bolstered by a strong lead hero this one does what a lot of its contemporaries don't.
It exhilarates.
It's a massive bunch of fun.
John McClaine is on notice.
"Die Hard".
Every action movie that puts a lone hero in a specific location will be compared to the action classic.
In the case of "Olympus Has Fallen" it is a former Secret Service agent who is the only hope when the White House is overtaken by terrorists.
There are many, many similarities to the 1988 Bruce Willis classic - it is undeniable.
As for comparisons to the most recent installment in the Die Hard franchise (that would be part 5) there are thankfully very, very few.
The main difference between Die Hard 5 and "Olympus Has Fallen" is that the latter is very, very good.
In fact it does just about everything right that Die Hard 5 did wrong.
Firstly this is R rated.
I know- so was Die Hard 5 but unlike that movie "Olympus Has Fallen" wears it's classification with pride.
I honestly don't know why "Die Hard 5" got an R rating.
The cynic in me wants to think that it was a marketing ploy to try and fool action fans that they were getting an honest to God hardcore action flick.
We weren't.
So thank the movie Gods that "Oympus Has Fallen" is the real deal.
Profane, bloody, high octane, suspenseful good old fashioned crowd pleasing fun.
 |
| Gerrard Butler - stabbing, snapping and shooting his way into the hearts of action movie fans |
I had just about given up on Gerrard Butler.
He showed such promise with "300" but followed that career boosting role with a bunch of horrible romantic comedies.
Whenever he did dip his toe back into more testosterone laden affairs ("Gamer", "Law Abiding Citizen", "RocknRolla") the results were decent but not amazing.
"Olympus Has Fallen" puts him right back on track.
He plays Mike Banning a Secret Service agent very close to the President and First Lady.
After an accident in a storm he saves the President but cannot prevent the First Lady's death.
No one blames him- he clearly acted in exactly the right way.
But that doesn't mean that anyone up to and including the President wants him around on a daily basis to remind them of the tragedy.
 |
| Aaron Eckhart |
Conveniently this is located just across the street from the White House.
When 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is struck by a freak 30mm cannon shell storm courtesy of a terrorist controlled Hercules C130 gunship Banning is right there ready to act.
After a very exciting action sequence lasting something like fifteen minutes the smoke clears to reveal dozens of corpses on, in and around the White House and Banning the only good guy left alive in the place not in terrorist hands.
The President and his closest staff are in the secure bunker held hostage by the terrorists.
Before any of this has happened we have a setup scene in which we see the motor accident that claims the First Lady's life.
The bond between Banning and the President, his wife and son is shown.
More importantly the film reveals a pretty slick script with some decent writing.
It is quite witty and does a great job of introducing a fair number of characters, all of whom will have important parts to play in future events.
Before a shot had been fired I was relatively optimistic about the quality of this film then.
I was not wrong.
Finally someone has made the sort of action movie that we all loved in the eighties.
I am talking about the original Die Hard movies (and even the third one in 1994) and the likes of the first two Lethal Weapons.
As much as I like Stallone's Expendables flicks there is no denying that they are cartoony, goofy fun as opposed to 'serious' action films.
To be fair the 2008 "Rambo" is fantastic but that was five years ago.
We have been starved of genuinely suspenseful, hardcore action fare and "Olympus Has Fallen" steps up to the plate admirably.
Being a 2013 movie it brings modern visual effects to the table too.
The C130 attack and the subsequent ground action is pretty gonzo stuff.
Big budget CGI is all well and good but without a decent story to go along with it what's the point?
Fortunately "Olympus Has Fallen" doesn't put a foot wrong for all of its two hours.
If you are worried when the President's young son becomes a central character- don't be.
Concerned that the traitor in the midst might become a cliched, corny bore?
No problem - apart from a noticeable Die Hard 'Bill Clay' moment it is handled very, very nicely and with some believability.
The script is smart enough to take anything that could get in the way of its main intention and carefully positioning them not to.
And that main intention so far as I can tell is to let Gerrard Butler's Mike Banning loose on about 30 terrorists.
He stabs, tortures, head-shoots, neck-snaps and beats to a pulp at the rate of about one every two minutes.
And this character shows no respect to anyone on either side that gets in his way.
If they are part of the problem he has no time for them.
This movie well and truly shows "Die Hard 5" what is what and that extends to the dialogue as well.
There's a corker of an exchange between Rick Yune's nasty head villain Kang and Banning in which the latter offers to play a very particular game with him.
I'm not going to spoil it and you will definitely know it when you hear it.
It is just one of the many squirm with joy moments that make this film such an audience pleasing treat.
 |
| Malana Lea, Ashley Judd and Radha Mitchell |
Radha Mitchell, Melissa Leo, Morgan Freeman, Robert Forster, Dylan McDermott and Cole Hauser all turn in solid performances.
I didn't recognise Leo until well into the movie long after I had become impressed with her work.
Some roles might be a little predictable with traitors, incompetent military types and one dimensional villains but nothing that induces groans.
There might be a fair amount of action movie cliche but there is a very deliberate attempt to avoid a lot too.
It's nice to see Banning happily married despite his personal demons.
Sure, he and wife Leah (Radha Mitchell) have some problems but they are still very much together.
Rick Yune does a fine job with a character that isn't a quarter as developed as the king daddy of action villains - Hans Gruber.
 |
| Melissa Leo and Rick Yune |
It's hard to believe that screenwriters Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedict have only this movie to their credit.
It is solid, solid stuff.
Made for $70 million this has already earned more than that back domestically and will no doubt generate somewhere in the region of 60% of it's overall haul Internationally.
Looks like a $300 million kind of hit to me.
And so it should be- "Olympus Has Fallen" is a genuine action movie fans film.
In a world where Die Hard can't do it anymore it's a relief to find a movie that will happily, bloodily step up and take its place.
A lot of times that you think you know exactly what is going to happen you will be wrong.
Bolstered by a strong lead hero this one does what a lot of its contemporaries don't.
It exhilarates.
It's a massive bunch of fun.
John McClaine is on notice.
| Rated | R16 for profanity & frequent bloody stabbing, shooting & neck snapping action |
| Running Time: | 119 minutes (1hr, 49mins without end credits) |
| Starring: |
| Gerrard Butler | --- Mike Banning |
| Aaron Eckhart | --- President Ben Asher |
| Morgan Freeman | --- Speaker Trumbull |
| Rick Yune | --- Kang |
| Dylan McDermott | --- Forbes |
| Cole Hauser | --- Roma |
| Angela Bassett | --- Secret Service Director Jacobs |
| Melissa Leo | --- Secretary of Dedence Ruth McMillan |
| Robert Forster | --- General Clegg |
| Radha Mitchell | --- Leah Banning |
| Phil Austin | --- Vice President Charlie Rodriguez |
| Finley Jacobsen | --- Connor Asher |
| Ashley Judd | --- Margaret Asher |
| Keong Sim | --- Lee Tae-Woo |
| Malana Lea | --- Lim |
good review! I thought it was gonna be total rubbish but I have to say it was quite enjoyable. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Erik - I was a bit the same. I've always found Antoine Fuqua movies to be a bit average and Gerard Butler's choices have been awful ever since "300" so I was very pleasantly surprised too.
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