Olympus Has Fallen (2013)

Like Milius' Red Dawn (though not quite as accomplished technically), it's both completely indefensible substantively and yet a very enjoyable action film all the same. It knows what it is - jingoistic, idiotic drivel - but it's well shot and competently acted idiotic drivel if that makes sense.

Fuqua, in the mold of Milius, really has his heart-thumping loud and proud as an All-American, but he injects real red-meat and vigor into his direction of the action, which has its chaos but is never hard to follow or disorientating (or it's more controlled chaos to put it another way). Gerard Butler is... as good as he can be, which means he's alright, as an action hero for the first time in a while, and more believable than a Leonidas or whatever. Aaron Eckhardt was just one second away from accidentally yelling "RACHEL!" ala Dark Knight. And Morgan Freeman looked mostly tired, but could still command the screen better than half the rest of the people in the room save for Robert Forster. Oh, and did I mention this movie has a lot of logical gaps (Dylan McDermott's character, for example), and the CGI, such as when a certain rectangular monument is destroyed for no real reason except for cinematic eye-candy, looks so awful that your Windows 95 screen-saver was more convincing? There is that.

Olympus Has Fallen has an innumerable body count, effectively nasty-cum- stock villains, dialog that is to-the-point and story driven (even if that story, again, can be pretty stupid, and when it comes to those nuclear launch codes really needs a Dr. Strangelove in a wheelchair to come in and explain it to the Pentagon people), and I had a fun time watching the violence ensue. Perhaps when stacked up against actual bulls**** like Taken 2 or a Die Hard 5, its cinematic sins are slightly less egregious- it borrows from other films, liberally one might say (a little *original* Die Hard here, Air Force One there, any given hostage- crisis flick there, oh and how about most 24 episodes crammed into the climax), but somehow it trusts its audience to either be dumb enough to enjoy the ride, or that the smart people know its dumb but can enjoy its own dumb logic on its own terms. In other words, it's patently absurd, and all it's missing is a bald eagle to swoop in at the end to congratulate the heroes.

Fmovies: First off, let me say that the movie is a high production Hollywood film meaning the guns look real, there is ample budget for Apache helicopters and realistic sets, professionally choreographed fight scenes, and the requisite amount of explosions and CGI effects.

However, looking at this film in terms of realistic plot and character development, it lacks quite a bit. Without giving anything away, if you saw the trailer, this shouldn't be a spoiler, we're expected to believe an outrageous number of defensive failures on the part of several security organizations -- enough to bring on a not-so-clever or intriguing attack on the White House. Let's just go with that for a moment, using our advanced sense of Hollywood suspended disbelief syndrome and hope that, although the plot is implausible, at least the characters make it real.

Morgan Freeman gives one of his most cardboard, stale acting appearances ever. The stereotypical military head says to blow things up, the more reticent advisers say to act cautiously, the President decries the inhumanity of killing staff members while the body count from the aforementioned guns and ammo displays and explosions count easily into the many dozens (hundreds likely, difficult to count). Our one last hope is Gerard Butler. I must say I like him as an action hero, and he played his role well here. But he was vaguely a man of action at the beginning of the movie, albeit at a desk for a few brief moments about 10 minutes in to 14 minutes into the movie, and he was a more defined man of action by the end of the movie -- don't look for any more character development from any character in the movie at any time. That was it; no development whatsoever. It's like asking for architectural and civil planning lessons from the suburbs of Detroit. The phrase "devoid of" comes to mind.

Watch this only if you want some mindless action without having to think at all. And once again you can wave a patriotic American flag at the end and put another point forward for American exceptionalism.

Olympus Has Fallen is yet an other US president oriented flick. A ton of action and special effects with almost as many logical flaws.

The acting is good, particularly Morgan Freeman (to a lesser extent: Gerard Butler and Aaron Eckhart) and there's no denying the roller coaster ride, but it has many shortcomings. Aside from the usual suspension of disbelief, logic fails at almost every turn. Then there's the poor dialogs, the easy retorts, the one dimensional underdeveloped characters, the incredible body count, and the overly flag-centric pride.

It's action based entertainment for sure, but not much else.

Olympus Has Fallen fmovies. I find it ironic that Gerard Butler, a Scotsman, as disgraced Secret Agent Mike Banning, embodies the spirit of John McClane much more than Bruce Willis did in that last dreadful outing. If anything, Butler has done nothing more than to cement his reputation as a bankable and likable action hero for the new generation in this old-school action movie. He has a commanding presence on-screen, quips wisecracks, bleeds when it's crucial, and dispatches the bad guys in a methodical cross between Jason Bourne and John Rambo. Not even the fine supporting cast (Morgan Freeman, Aaron Eckhart, Angela Bassett, Robert Forster, Melissa Leo, Dylan McDermott) can take away Butler's limelight.

Indeed, Antoine Fuqua's "Olympus Has Fallen" is not only terrific entertainment but a terrific throwback to the pivotal 90's action movie, the Die Hard clone - and this film ("Die Hard" in the White House) is another reminder of why the trusted formula works, even if it has been dormant for nearly two decades (the last good big one being Peter Hyams' "Sudden Death").

From the moment the film's main action start, the film doesn't stop running. The bad guys, hoo boy do they mean business. Rarely, if at all, have I seen this much brutal collateral damage in an American action film. Americans citizens get mowed down by bullets from ground and air forces. The all-American (Scottish) hero represents freedom and justice, and the bad guys represent every American's worst nightmare. I haven't seen this much political incorrectness since "The Delta Force". Having said that, Rick Yune surprisingly makes for an effective and nasty villain, who is relentlessly cold, smug and procedural in his mission, following the formula perfectly. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

It's fast, it's loud, it's preposterous, and yet I enjoyed every minute of it. The film is chock-full of sensational and well-shot action sequences/special effects, but its biggest strength is its cohesion. From start to finish the plot moves smoothly, and you can tell who the good guys and the bad guys are. The characters are established, their motives clear, and that's that. The action sequences do not simply skip to each other, they flow perfectly like a stream, thanks to crisp editing. Simplicity is key here, and convoluted plots do not fit in the formula (hear that, "Die Hard 5"?)

Fuqua is no stranger to action, having helmed the solid "Shooter" six years ago. Here he ratchets up the action up to a 10 (CGI is present but used reasonably), and he remarkably doesn't hold back on the tension. It's no "Training Day", but it more or less hearkens back to an Antoine Fuqua who made "The Replacement Killers". Just thrilling fun.

Of course the plot isn't original. It's a genre picture, and what I pay to see in a genre picture is its skillful craft and cohesive plot. This film has both, and resurrects the Die Hard clone from the grave. Here I thought I was getting bored of action movies. The genre is dying, you say? Here's a solid kicker.

We've asked for a real Die Hard movie, for a very long time.

We've asked for a real R rated action movie, for a while.

We've asked for a decent and crazy actioner for a long time.

There you have it. Olympus Has Fallen is the movie that has everything you were waiting to see. Thankfully, Bruce Willis is on vacation ( just like he claimed several times, in Die Hard 5). So, he is nowhere to be seen, thankfully. We have a good amount of violence, shootouts and action.

It's important and really honest if you like the movie for what it is, a fun, crazy and silly action movie with some good lines and some good acting. So, like it for what it is, but don't hate it for what it isn't. It's not meant to be a serious, edgy and visceral movie. It's Die Hard in White House, plain and simple.

You'll find the same old plot holes that similar movies had, but don't be scared. The flaws won't take away the fun you'll have with the flick.

The movie is not for kids or babies. It's very violent and they don't hold any punch regarding the display of violence and brutality on screen. Woman, men, that doesn't matter. Headshots, impalings, explosions and lots of deaths. That's about it.

Don't walk to the cinema, expecting to see a serious and complex thriller. This is a action movie that doesn't stop until its ending. You have 25 minutes of "building up" and after that, the action is pretty much nonstop.

Yeah, you'll see patriotism, but then again, a movie about the White Houlse wouldn't forget anything about it.

Finally: Go watch it for the action and some of the acting.