If Morgan Freeman is in a movie, there’s a good chance he’ll have the title of President alongside his name, or in this case, Acting President. Freeman stars alongside Aaron Eckhart and Gerard Butler. Eckhart assumes the Presidential role until he’s held hostage by a bunch of North Korean tourists and Butler, a secret service agent since removed from Presidential detail, decides to take on the North Koreans who have not
only taken the President captive but have more or less knocked seven shades of shit out of the Whitehouse.
The opening hour of Olympus Has Fallen is rather spectacular, as the Whitehouse comes under aerial attack firstly and the subsequent ground attack sees the body count rack up at a rate that John Rambo would be hard pressed to out do. To his credit director Antoine Fuqua and his team do a rather good job of exploiting our inner most fears when it comes to terrorism. The attack on the Whitehouse is gritty, realistic and has a pretty epic scale to it. And while we’ve seen Roland Emmerich blow the Whitehouse to smithereens in ID4, this is something that is obviously far more realistic and given that we seem to live in a world where terrorism is far too common, this hits home with a punch.
Civilians, cops and anything with a pulse is decimated by a rain of bullets all very realistically and the real exploitation of terrorism fears comes in via the angles this is shot on, especially with the big ass North Korean plane that leads the attack. It’s all very familiar looking and the tragedy of 9/11 springs to mind in one or two shots. And while the most protected building on the face of the planet, flexes her muscles (missiles on the roof etc.) it doesn’t stop the North Koreans from coming in the front door, murdering all round them and holding the President hostage in a bunker deep under one of the worlds most recognisable buildings.
And while visually impressive, Olympus Has Fallen portrays a very vulnerable Whitehouse security who seemingly are out numbered and out classed. And while this its a fair point that this is the movies, it’s not that realistic in this sense. At times, it seems quite ludicrous and you’ll be a little flabbergasted at the success of the bad guys. The second half of the movie concentrates solely on Butler and is quite dark and cluster phobic as he goes on a quest to rescue the President’s son, The President and kill all the bad guys. Predictable stuff, but none the less highly entertaining, regardless of how the pacing slows down a tad in the second half.
Cast wise; things are a bit of a mixed bunch. Freeman does his usual Presidential style thing while not breaking a sweat and Butler is genuinely likeable and his a powerful presence. Unfortunately Aaron Eckhart can’t pull off the Presidential role. His look, demeanour and even tone of voice are far from Presidential. At times he doesn’t look comfortable in the role and seems a bit contrived as a result.
Olympus Has Fallen is generally a no brainer, big popcorn flick. It’s got more head shots, neck breaks and explosions than your average video game. It’s not particularly bad, nor is it amazing by any sense but it does offer a genuinely entertaining night out at the cinema. Definitely worth a watch!
only taken the President captive but have more or less knocked seven shades of shit out of the Whitehouse.
The opening hour of Olympus Has Fallen is rather spectacular, as the Whitehouse comes under aerial attack firstly and the subsequent ground attack sees the body count rack up at a rate that John Rambo would be hard pressed to out do. To his credit director Antoine Fuqua and his team do a rather good job of exploiting our inner most fears when it comes to terrorism. The attack on the Whitehouse is gritty, realistic and has a pretty epic scale to it. And while we’ve seen Roland Emmerich blow the Whitehouse to smithereens in ID4, this is something that is obviously far more realistic and given that we seem to live in a world where terrorism is far too common, this hits home with a punch.
Civilians, cops and anything with a pulse is decimated by a rain of bullets all very realistically and the real exploitation of terrorism fears comes in via the angles this is shot on, especially with the big ass North Korean plane that leads the attack. It’s all very familiar looking and the tragedy of 9/11 springs to mind in one or two shots. And while the most protected building on the face of the planet, flexes her muscles (missiles on the roof etc.) it doesn’t stop the North Koreans from coming in the front door, murdering all round them and holding the President hostage in a bunker deep under one of the worlds most recognisable buildings.
And while visually impressive, Olympus Has Fallen portrays a very vulnerable Whitehouse security who seemingly are out numbered and out classed. And while this its a fair point that this is the movies, it’s not that realistic in this sense. At times, it seems quite ludicrous and you’ll be a little flabbergasted at the success of the bad guys. The second half of the movie concentrates solely on Butler and is quite dark and cluster phobic as he goes on a quest to rescue the President’s son, The President and kill all the bad guys. Predictable stuff, but none the less highly entertaining, regardless of how the pacing slows down a tad in the second half.
Cast wise; things are a bit of a mixed bunch. Freeman does his usual Presidential style thing while not breaking a sweat and Butler is genuinely likeable and his a powerful presence. Unfortunately Aaron Eckhart can’t pull off the Presidential role. His look, demeanour and even tone of voice are far from Presidential. At times he doesn’t look comfortable in the role and seems a bit contrived as a result.
Olympus Has Fallen is generally a no brainer, big popcorn flick. It’s got more head shots, neck breaks and explosions than your average video game. It’s not particularly bad, nor is it amazing by any sense but it does offer a genuinely entertaining night out at the cinema. Definitely worth a watch!
Olympus Has Fallen Review
Reviewed by Vic Barry
Rating: 3
