Olympus Has Fallen

Olympus Has Fallen (AKA Die Hard 6 or Air Force One 2) Review

 vs. 

(Courtesy of The Editing Room)

^I mean I'm just saying...

I remember when I first watched Air Force One. I thought of an idea for an alternate storyline. I asked myself, "Wouldn't it have been cool if it was one of the secret service agents was playing the 'John McClane' role instead of the President?" Six years later, this movie was released into theaters. Darn idea thieves!

Olympus Has Fallen is quite similar to the much loved Air Force One and Die Hard. In this version of the one-man-against-several-terrorists-who-are-holding-hostages story, a former secret service agent (Gerard Butler) is pitted against some bad dudes from North Korea who are holding the President (Aaron Eckhart) hostage. Butler's character is the only agent left alive after the initial assault on The White House. He stays in communication with the Speaker of the House turned Acting President (Morgan Freeman), while the President and his staff are held in the shelter deep below The White House with guns to their heads.

When I first bought Air Force One, I watched it every day for two weeks straight. And I've seen Die Hard a million times as well. I'm fully aware of how heavily Olympus Has Fallen borrows from these two movies. However, both of these movies are in my Top 25, and I love them for a reason. While this recent release doesn't quite meet the quality of storytelling set by the others, the action was just as riveting. I can honestly say this movie had one of the most intense action scenes I've seen in recent years, and it probably lasted 30 minutes. The assault on The White House that began the conflict switched from an aerial attack across all of D.C., followed by suicide bombers, gas grenades, trucks rigged with bombs and dozens of assassins for hire chipping away at The White House's security and its architectural defenses.

Comparing this scene to the action from A Good Day to Die Hard, I'm glad to see that there's still a way to successfully conduct an extended action sequence on the big screen. I think this can be credited to the film's director, Antoine Fuqua. He directed last decade's Training Day, which I wasn't a big fan of. In this film, I was able to see that Fuqua indeed has an impressive talent behind the camera. I also saw solid performances form Eckhart and (as always) Morgan Freeman. Finally, I was pleasantly astounded by the sound and film editing, which added even further stimulation to the action. If you've seen Air Force One and/or Die Hard and feel like you've had enough of this kind of movie, this probably isn't one to go out of your way to see. However, if you're a fan of either of these movies, or the action genre in general, you'll most likely love it. It's only March, but so far Olympus Has Fallen has my vote for best flick of the year. Keep in mind though that there are 9 more months full of movies to out-stage it.

4/5