Olympus Has Fallen

by Denjie Thu Aug 15, 2013 1:02 pm

"Let's play a game of "F*** off". You go first."

One man disgraced is another man's redemption.

Starring Gerard Butler, Arron Eckhart, and Morgan Freeman Olympus has Fallen is a Confrontation/Action movie that shows what could actually happen to the White House and that even under the worst possible conditions the tables can be turned.

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I was honestly dubious about the movie when I first saw trailers for it. I've never been a real Gerard Butler fan, only other movie I've seen him in that I enjoyed was 300. I went into this one more for Arron Eckhart and of course Morgan Freeman. Just knowing those two were in it made me think this movie had some serious potential and as it turns out I wasn't wrong. Eckhart and Freeman did a great job of it all and surprisingly Butler also came through well too.

The story revolves around the idea of tensions building between North and South Korea and the South comes to the President asking for aid in how to calm things back down. The North wants the U.S. to back out and recall all forces and let the civil war commence all over again. The entire story covers 2-3 days.

Mike Banning (Gerard Butler), disgraced Secret Service Agent after failure to save the Presidents wife in an accident now leads a boring desk job life. Not knowing how to move forward but yearning for action again Mike is caught between a rock and a hard place. On the day of the take over Mike is out in front of the White House when the North Koreans storm the compound. Using their advance as cover he automaticaly moves in and starts eliminating enemies with his semi-auto M911. President Benjamin Asher (Arron Eckhart) is down in the bunker with the North Koreans and does everything in his power to stop them. Because of the White House take over, Speaker of the House Alan Trumball (Morgan Freeman) is now in charge and we witness the intense decision making that now commences with nuclier threats looming and the President taken hostage. It now all comes down to Mike Banning to get the President out in one piece.

I first heard about this movie around the same time as I heard about another similar one White House Down. I was curious about both but when I saw the trailers for WHD and who was in it (Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx) I immediately went with Olympus has Fallen and am so glad I did. I've watched a good amount of "take over" movies and this a great one. It actually showed realism where I thought it would lack. I could see that scenario happening which is really isn't all that good for our guys in D.C. Anyway, I felt very involved with it all. Not a dull moment ever, even the quiet moments had you waiting for what would happen next. The execution of each combat maneuver was placed well. Every enemy was training in martial arts and it showed as Butler took out one after another of the Koreans. Towards the beginning we saw that Eckharts character was uneasy and even dubious about anything concerning Butlers character. By the middle though, President Asher was rooting for and bringing on the pain for Banning. When Asher overheard the Koreans talking with a double agent about Banning and the agent said Banning was nothing to worry about, you heard Asher mutter "You should be worried". Giving light to the fact that Banning was in fact, someone to take as highly dangerous given enough prodding. And as such was seen in Banning, push him wrong and all hell broke loose. Banning came through (obviously), and the "American Dream" lives for another movie.

The character of Arron Eckhart was great, playing the firm, iron strong President you see similar drive and determination that we all saw him perform with in The Dark Knight. Arron didn't do much physically in the movie, but his emotional and verbal impact more than made up for that. He never backed down and was always ready to take out the enemy even while being zip tied to the railing in the bunker. In an almost amusing and yet saddening realization, I found myself thinking while watching him that I wish our actual Presidents had that kind of iron in them. He really does bring out the charactor and make you believe he can do anything and a real scenario. With the performance of his alongside The Dark Knight I am seeing Eckhart is a great actor and am looking into more movies of his.

Gerard Butler as Mike Banning threw down on all aspects. His character was described as a "Ex Army Ranger with advanced training in Special Forces tactics and combat", kinda makes you wonder if it'll all be bluster and hype or will he throw down for real? Butler went to town with this role. Every action sequence wasn't over done as would be usually expected. Instead, moves were timed and there was no excess movement of any kind. Surprisingly enough, there was more hand to hand combat and knife play than bullets spent. This added a equally intensive aspect to every take down committed by Butler as he advanced through the White house. It's characters and movies like this that keep me barely floating with Butler but I do float.

Alan Trumball (Morgan Freeman), what more can be said? As usual Freeman bring on a great performance and completely captivates the scenes he's in. As Speaker of the House he holds that authority with passion and justice. When the tension rises he just rolls with it and then ups the ante with his aggressiveness. One of my favorite lines from him in the beginning of his "new role" is right after he takes charge he asks for coffee "Half and Half, three sugars. And put it in a real cup! Not one of the plastic or styrofoam ones!" gotta love Morgan Freeman. He takes command and carries us through the events with the clarity and energy that is his signature way of acting.

I give the movie a 4 1/2 out of 5 stars. I'm not a big fan of Butler so that was a damper for me, the language was also a bit crazy. I think the only word I ever heard was F***. And that was used quite a bit. Great acting though, good story, good combat and relatable characters. I really recommend this movie, don't waste your time on White House Down.

Thank you for reading.