Olympus Has Fallen

OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN

Director : Antoine Fuqua

Year : 2013

Genre : Action

Rating : ***

Continuing the wave of cinematic destruction that has recently befell the most heavily guarded building on the planet, 'Olympus Has Fallen'  tells the story of terrorists taking over the White House while one man battles to save the President. Starring Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman and Aaron Eckhardt, 'Olympus Has Fallen' has more than a few similarities to Roland Emmerich's identically themed action adventure 'White House Down', but while the latter mixes long shootouts and explosions with a healthy amount of humour, 'Olympus Has Fallen' takes it's subject matter much more seriously, leaving little room for comedy and scabrous satire. Showing more than a couple drops of blood, director Antoine Fuqua floods the screen with death, knife fights and the random executions of harmless innocents and because of this, 'Olympus Has Fallen' lacks the sense of fun and entertainment that made 'White House Down' so infectiously enjoyable. However, while the movie may be more vicious and more serious than it's counterpart, it is still a romping action adventure that is elevated by the quality of it's performances, blistering direction and patriotic score. 

Gerard Butler plays Mike Banning, a secret service agent who reluctantly leaves his post when his actions cause the accidental death of the First Lady on a cold Christmas night. But when Korean terrorists take control of the White House and kidnap the President (Eckhardt) 18 months later, he takes it upon himself to rescue his leader and save as many innocent lives as he possibly can while the most important building in the States crumbles around him.

Director Antoine Fuqua is probably best known for his Academy Award winning 2001 film 'Training Day', which earned actor Denzel Washington his first Oscar and made a household name of it's star Ethan Hawke. While not as acerbic or as consistently gripping as 'Training Day', 'Olympus Has Fallen' still contains a great number of nail biting action scenes and moments of great threat and peril that are certainly not suitable for those of a young or impressionable age. As mentioned earlier, the movie contains a large amount of blood and gore and some of the more graphic moments did have me cringing in disgust. Throat slicing, stabbing to the skull and gunshots to the temple are all on offer in 'Olympus Has Fallen' and while these scenes are 'executed' well, they do become increasingly tiresome due to the huge amounts of repetition and overlong fight scenes that do nothing but stretch the already bloated running time of the movie. 

Taking it's subject matter much more seriously than 'White House Down', 'Olympus Has Fallen' uses real life incidents and historical tragedies to anchor the movie in some form of reality. The use of Korean terrorists feels dangerously close and referential to the recent events that have taken place in the country and by using their history as the raison d'etre what is essentially a silly blockbuster thriller, I do feel that 'Olympus Has Fallen' sometimes oversteps the taste mark and becomes exploitative. It is a movie where all non Americans are a threat and that every single foreigner on screen could potentially be a terrorist or suicide bomber. Of course the antagonists are basically archetypes (power hungry psychopaths), but I do think that Fuqua has made a mistake in choosing to base his movie around the recent atrocities that have occurred overseas. The peace of our world is already brittle and we do not really need a movie to punctuate this. We are living with nuclear threats every single day and are constantly on edge about the possibility of  holocaust. I'm not saying that this movie could spark international terrorism in any way; it is far too commercial and generic for that, but what I am saying is that I hope that other filmmakers aren't tempted to use the Koreans to form the main backbone of their movie in the future, because it just might cause problems.

While Channing Tatum was likable and highly personable in 'White House Down', Gerard Butler is much more enclosed and serious in his central role and while both men are playing essentially the same character, I do feel that Tatum made the more interesting protagonist. That's not to put Butler down in any way as he also does a very good job of being a one man army, but for me the sense of humour and wry wit helped to make Tatum a more charismatic screen presence.  I like Butler very much as an actor and I think that given the right script and director, he can do some really great work and that is certainly true here. Wounded by his past and haunted by his future, Butler appears on screen as an avenging angel seeking redemption; a human who is willing to die for his President, his wife and his nation. 

The supporting cast, while not really memorable all do a good job and thanks to some great characterisations and realistic dialogue, they help to give 'Olympus Has Fallen' an atmosphere of desperation and fear. Morgan Freeman is as reliable as always as the Speaker of the House, who is unexpectedly thrust into power when the President is suddenly taken hostage. Faced with life changing decisions and moral threat,  he is very convincing as a man who has to make the right choice; even if it means death to thousands. Although he isn't given much to do, Aaron Eckhardt is good as the President who has to watch his government collapse around him and his entire country falling into disarray while still maintaining an air of authority and usurped power. A good father, a loving husband and noble leader, Eckhardt plays the idealised version of a leader; brave, strong and fearless. In reality of course, no one could be this brave in the face of certain death and Eckhardt does a very good job of portraying the inevitable fear and terror that would be felt by anyone in his position. This allows his character to become much relatable and personable to us; a good contrast to Butler's typical 'action hero' archetype who can dodge bullets and walk off numerous knife wounds.

Stretching reality to it's absolute limits, 'Olympus Has Fallen' is just as overblown and as stupidly silly as 'White House Down' and while it may not be as hypnotically fun as it's similarly themed sibling, 'Olympus Has Fallen' is still a very entertaining action packed 2 hours in the cinema. Yes, it could have done with more laughs and less extended shootout scenes but for what it is, it is a well acted adventure that should entertain both action fans and thriller fans alike.