Olympus Has Fallen

Plot: Korean terrorists take over the White House and capture the President (Aaron Eckhart). It is up to ex-Secret Service agent Mike Banner (Gerard Butler) to rescue hostages and save the day. [imdb]    [photos]

Review: Bang, Bang, Guns, Missiles, Crashing Fighter Jets, Blackhawk Down! Nuclear Launch Codes. It's all action during Olympus has Fallen -- non-stop and full speed. 

The action is so fast that you might miss how unrealistic most of the story is.  And if you are loving it, you will miss how shamelessly jingoistic and saccharine patriotic it is too. 

The special effects are good. The plot, such as it is, keeps the action rolling. The villain comes up with enough plot twists for 120 minutes, and the end feels satisfying. Gerard Butler's Banner is a pretty good action hero that is likeable, human, and not a too much of a super-hero. 

I was put off by the pandering patriotism. How many shots of the flag did we need? Did it have to flutter down to the ground in slow motion? I get that it was the White House, and how symbolic that is. 

Cast: Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman

Directed by: Antoine Fuqua

Rating: 2.0 stars. A little too melodramatic for me. Fun to watch.

 

More: So ironic that the villains were North Koreans, and right now they are threatening nuclear war. Even more "Life Imitates Art," that Kim Jong Un had a map of the US with targets on it on the wall of his command center. 

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