Olympus Has Fallen: Movie Review... I saw the White House-invasion action flick today, and the first thing that I want to say is, Gerard Butler did to the terrorists what Jack Bauer would've done if the now-defunct FOX TV show 24 was on HBO, Starz or Showtime instead. In other words, more gory scenes where bad guys nonchalantly get shot in the head and even knives jammed into their jugulars and/or craniums by the guy who played a Spartan in 2007's 300. Not that this is a bad thing (assuming you're not a pacifist who deplores ultra-violent movies, or just aren't a fan of Gerard Butler)... The way that the intruders make their way into the House On 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is so merciless and brutal that you want an ex-Special Forces-turned-Secret Service agent showing up on scene to put a dent in the insurgents' plans. That's where Butler comes along.
Nitpicking-wise, there are many things to critique about in Olympus Has Fallen. First and foremost, this film isn't even close to being original. The movie opens and concludes with a saturated look at the American flag (a la Saving Private Ryan); and not only did he see 24, but the screenwriter must have also watched 1997's Air Force One while writing Olympus' script. Instead of Russian terrorists led by none other than Gary Oldman, you have rogue Korean commandos who fall under the command of Rick Yune [of 2001's The Fast and the Furious, 2002's Die Another Day (in which Yune played a North Korean-born Bond villain), last year's The Man with the Iron Fists and 2009's Ninja Assassin] wreaking havoc on the U.S. government. And instead of Air Force One, we, of course, have the White House being the iconic locale that's (somewhat plausibly) invaded by foreign attackers. Plus, there's a mole in the Secret Service that allows the terrorists to gain access to the President (this time played by Aaron Eckhart and not Harrison Ford). And lastly, instead of the late Jerry Goldsmith—who composed the memorable score for Air Force One, you have Trevor Morris...whose bombastic but patriotic music for Olympus Has Fallen was obviously inspired by Air Force One and maybe even Hans Zimmer's tune for 2001's Pearl Harbor. In regards to the movie's visual effects, which looked really fake in the trailer, the computer-generated shots appeared a lot better in the actual movie. There were still some scenes with shoddy FX work (namely, the F-22 Raptors chasing after the AC-130 gunship that strafes Washington, D.C., and the shots of CG Black Hawk helicopters superimposed with grainy stock footage of Capitol Hill and other D.C. landmarks), but other than those, I was hardly taken out of the film with these post-production imperfections, hah. Imagine if the venerable FX house Industrial Light & Magic worked on Olympus Has Fallen... Wow. That would've been cool.
In regards to what I enjoyed about Olympus Has Fallen, it's the fact that this is a feel-good action flick if you're a Yank. Sure, pretty much all of the Secret Service agents and D.C. police (and even Navy SEALs) who show up to defend the White House were wiped out by Yune and company, but the way that Butler dispatches these antagonists with ferocity deservedly elicited cheers from the audience. (Despite being gagged and bound, one Korean commando was foolish enough to laugh at Butler's character as he interrogated the terrorist in one scene; the commando stopped laughing, permanently, after getting the previously-mentioned knife to the throat.) And being a military buff, I like how the filmmakers accurately portrayed the way flares are dispensed from the AC-130 gunship when threatened by missiles fired by the F-22s. Though if only the F-22 saw real combat instead of having to continuously engage in fictional big-screen dogfights as seen in this film, 2008's Iron Man and the Transformers trilogy. Oh well. So would I recommend Olympus Has Fallen for viewing, you ask? Sure. Just make sure you watch it with another flick like this Friday's G.I. Joe: Retaliation to get your 6 bucks worth...if you're going to a matinee at AMC or Regal Cinemas or something. Oh, and here's hoping that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un doesn't obtain any copy of this movie. He might get ideas.
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