Starring: Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman, Melissa Leo
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Genre: Action
Running time: 120 minutes
It is easy to see why a lot of critics hated this film. It is overly patriotic,
sometimes rambling, and with quite a few scenes that should have seen the
cutting room floor. This said, it is also a lot of fun. Olympus Has Fallen works
as a fully-fledged, old-school action movie; predictable of course, but
sometimes that is exactly what is wanted when going to see this kind of movie.
The plot is basic and easy to follow. Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) is a secret service agent assigned to protect the President of the United States and his family. In a tragic accident the First Lady is killed and Mike feels responsible. Eighteen months later a terrorist attack leaves the fate of the President and his son in Mike's hands, but will he live up to the challenge?
The first and most glaring of its faults is the overly long and lingering shots to emphasise the patriotism at the core of the plot. Let's get this straight: there is a lot of flag waving going on in this movie. This isn't so much a problem in itself but the patriotism is often given as the motivation of the central characters, and a more personal motivation would have worked more constructively. For example, in Die Hard John McLane wants to save his wife as well as foil the terrorist plot, and the motivation has a much more universal connection which really works. Moreover, Banning as an action hero is all-American and not fashioned in the anti-hero vein of the Die Hard films which have a firm disdain for authority in all its forms. The anti-hero gives a fun and rebellious aspect that is much loved. (Please excuse the comparisons with Die Hard, but as the pinnacle of this genre of movie, other action films could learn a lot from Mr McLane et al.) However, it is very easy to see why the character of the patriotic action hero has risen in a post 9/11 world.
Despite all this, Gerard Butler is great in this film; just the right mixture of
comedy, action and heartfelt emotion, he is both believable as an action man and likeable. Mr Butler carries the film and the watchable parts are
mostly due to his performance. Not usually a fan of his work, his previous outings as an action hero had a more historical emphasis, but more (if
better plotted) urban action movies should be on the cards for Mr Butler, as this
really is the birth of an action hero that has been a long time coming.
Olympus Has Fallen is not going to win any awards for originality and it often feels like a missed opportunity. With a better script and plotting and the cutting of some of the extraneous scenes, this could have been a good solid action movie. A really good action film has not been delivered for a number of years and the director Antoine Fuqua, who also directed the excellent Training Day, seemed like the man who might be able to do this. Unfortunately this did not come to pass.
A couple of the character actors let the side down with some slightly hammy performances, and the treatment of women, something that action films aren't really good at getting right at the best of times, is not great. However, there were more than a few laughs, with enough cheesy quips to amuse as well as one of the best one-liners in a long time. In all, this is a below par action movie; the kind of popcorn fodder that will be forgotten as soon as the cinema door is closed.
Three stars: Fun, action packed and full of faults, action fans won't be disappointed; everyone else may get a little bored.
For more on Olympus Has Fallen visit here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74F_pts7Uhg
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Genre: Action
Running time: 120 minutes
It is easy to see why a lot of critics hated this film. It is overly patriotic,
sometimes rambling, and with quite a few scenes that should have seen the
cutting room floor. This said, it is also a lot of fun. Olympus Has Fallen works
as a fully-fledged, old-school action movie; predictable of course, but
sometimes that is exactly what is wanted when going to see this kind of movie.The plot is basic and easy to follow. Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) is a secret service agent assigned to protect the President of the United States and his family. In a tragic accident the First Lady is killed and Mike feels responsible. Eighteen months later a terrorist attack leaves the fate of the President and his son in Mike's hands, but will he live up to the challenge?
The first and most glaring of its faults is the overly long and lingering shots to emphasise the patriotism at the core of the plot. Let's get this straight: there is a lot of flag waving going on in this movie. This isn't so much a problem in itself but the patriotism is often given as the motivation of the central characters, and a more personal motivation would have worked more constructively. For example, in Die Hard John McLane wants to save his wife as well as foil the terrorist plot, and the motivation has a much more universal connection which really works. Moreover, Banning as an action hero is all-American and not fashioned in the anti-hero vein of the Die Hard films which have a firm disdain for authority in all its forms. The anti-hero gives a fun and rebellious aspect that is much loved. (Please excuse the comparisons with Die Hard, but as the pinnacle of this genre of movie, other action films could learn a lot from Mr McLane et al.) However, it is very easy to see why the character of the patriotic action hero has risen in a post 9/11 world.
Despite all this, Gerard Butler is great in this film; just the right mixture of
comedy, action and heartfelt emotion, he is both believable as an action man and likeable. Mr Butler carries the film and the watchable parts are
mostly due to his performance. Not usually a fan of his work, his previous outings as an action hero had a more historical emphasis, but more (if
better plotted) urban action movies should be on the cards for Mr Butler, as this
really is the birth of an action hero that has been a long time coming.Olympus Has Fallen is not going to win any awards for originality and it often feels like a missed opportunity. With a better script and plotting and the cutting of some of the extraneous scenes, this could have been a good solid action movie. A really good action film has not been delivered for a number of years and the director Antoine Fuqua, who also directed the excellent Training Day, seemed like the man who might be able to do this. Unfortunately this did not come to pass.
A couple of the character actors let the side down with some slightly hammy performances, and the treatment of women, something that action films aren't really good at getting right at the best of times, is not great. However, there were more than a few laughs, with enough cheesy quips to amuse as well as one of the best one-liners in a long time. In all, this is a below par action movie; the kind of popcorn fodder that will be forgotten as soon as the cinema door is closed.
Three stars: Fun, action packed and full of faults, action fans won't be disappointed; everyone else may get a little bored.
For more on Olympus Has Fallen visit here.
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