Aylmer to Zazzoo and Beyond: Olympus Has Fallen

Monday, March 25, 2013

Olympus Has Fallen - Review

Olympus Has Fallen
(2013 - March 22)
Action | Thriller
2 hrs.

Rated: R Strong violence and language throughout Read more
Grade: B-

Director: Antoine Fuqua
Writers: Creighton Rothenberger, Katrin Benedikt
Stars: Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman | See full cast and crew

The unthinkable happens when heavily armed and highly trained terrorists launch a bold daytime attack on the White House. The building is overrun, and President Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart) and his staff are taken hostage. Luckily for Asher, former presidential security officer Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) is on the scene. With time running out, it's up to Banning to locate Asher's son before the extremists do and rescue the president before his captors unleash their ultimate plan.

Some movie lines are prophetic, when Gerard Butler as hero Mike Banning says, 'With all due respect, I'm the best you've got.'...he's right, this is the best we're gonna' get. Once you accept that reality you can ignore the films spoon fed implausibility, xenophobia, propaganda and clichés enough to choke a horse and simply enjoy A Good Day To Die Hard At The White House, Under Siege, On Air Force One. I suspect it is destined to be a financial success and an audience pleaser. On it's opening weekend it has already earned back half of it's $70 million budget, but it will not hold up as a 'classic'.

I understand hating this film, and in some ways I did, there are plenty of moments of stupidity that are worthy of audience disdain, but like a diabetic eating a dark chocolate Dove/Magnum ice cream bar, I enjoyed it anyway.

The pacing keeps the film moving along, a credit to the director, the actors are engaged and committed to the script taking it all seriously enough that even though the story is ridiculous and silly, they help the audience accept the film's emotional button pushing agenda.

Olympus Has Fallen is a popcorn eating action flick, plain and simple. I was not excited about seeing this film, judging strictly from the movie trailers over the past several months but it was better than what I was expecting, however, like the recent Argo, there was no need for all the profanity especially the ones starting with 'F', I found it very off-putting and distracting.

As a note of local trivia, Aaron Eckhart (President Benjamin Asher) got his start in the movies right here in Utah while a film major at Brigham Young University. He was raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) and served a two year mission for the church prior to his graduation, but according to Aaron, in an interview, "It would be hypocritical to call myself a Mormon, I haven't lived that lifestyle for years".