Movie Review - Olympus Has Fallen

Olympus Has Fallen  $$$     

R

120 Minutes

Starring: Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart,  Rick Yune, Angela Bassett, and Morgan Freeman.

Director: Antoine Fuqua. 

 

            I enjoyed Die Hard. I enjoyed Under Siege, which is Die Hard on a ship. And I enjoyed Olympus Has Fallen, which is Die Hard at the White House. In fact, I think that this movie did a much better job with the Die Hard concept than the latest film in the actual franchise. (See my review for A Good Day to Die Hard.)

            Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) protects The President (Aaron Eckhart) and his family. At least he does until tragedy strikes the First Family. President Asher has the former special forces, Secret Services Agent reassigned to a desk job. Move forward several months and we find ourselves in the middle of a siege. Kang (Rick Yune) has captured the White House and is holding The President hostage in the high security bunker below.

            Without waiting for an invitation to the party, Banning launches a one man war against the terrorists who threaten the safety of not only the President, but the entire United States.

            As far as the story line goes, it’s Die Hard at the White House. If that sounds interesting to you, then you should enjoy watching it. I found most of the actual terrorist assault hard to believe – even for a movie. Once the film moved past that, the action and storyline were more believable.  There are copious amounts of violence and blood. The language is typical for an ‘R’ rated movie. Gerard Butler turns in a good performance as does the rest of the cast. And let’s face it; the movie has Morgan Freeman in it. That elevates the whole viewing experience. The action sequences flow well, but otherwise the sound and visual effects are pretty standard for an explosion-filled action movie.  

            This film earned a solid three Movie-Bucks. It connected pretty well on an emotional level, even inspiring a few patriotic moments for me. It loses half a movie buck for the unreasonable take over of the White House and another half movie buck for the obvious reliance on the standard Die Hard story line.  Catch this as a matinee or other discount showing and I think you will have a good time. 

 

                        Randy’s Rating System

 

$$$$   = Full Price    See this movie right away and pay full price, it’s worth it.

$$$     = Matinee      Catch this as a matinee or other discounted showing.

$$        = Discount     Wait until this movie reaches a discount theater near you.

$          = Rental         Wait until this movie reaches your local video rental outlet.

0          = No Sale       Don’t see this movie at any price.