“Olympus Has Fallen” fails to impress yet again with an intense-looking Gerard Butler as all that stands between terrorists and the president (Aaron Eckhart). In the red band clip below, Mike Banning (Butler), a disgraced Secret Service agent, takes on the role of John McClane without much of the “Yippee–ki–yay” pizzazz other than letting out an obligatory “Fuck!” As the terrorists take the White House (Secret Service Code: “Olympus”), Butler, police and White House security fail to stop them from entering and kidnapping the president, apparently. While stuck in the White House, Banning becomes a one-man effort to recover the president from the kidnappers, eliciting groans from an audience who has seen these elements before and/or are waiting for a better version.
Directed by Antoine Fuqua (“Training Day”) and written by first-time screenwriters Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt, the film looks like an unpromising, albeit grittier, copycat of the upcoming “White House Down” starring Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx, and Maggie Gyllenhaal. Even with a cast rounded out by the likes of Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, and Ashley Judd, the film runs afoul of too many action film clichés (disgraced protagonist seeks redemption, a one-man cavalry charge, etc.) and that’s only from the trailers and clips. As much as I love Gerard Butler (watch “Dear Frankie” and you’ll understand), this is not the role for him at this or any point in his career. If, after watching the clip below, you want more, check out 10 other clips FilmDistrict released a week ago.
I saw this film last week in Toronto for free at an advanced screening. Let's just say I was happy it was free. It does have some good parts in the 2nd act, but overall this movie was a train wreck.
Olympus Has Fallen is not the copycat, it is White House Down. Olympus Has Fallen was slated first, announced first ( read about it on Deadline Hollywood). Sony paid a big bundle for a spec script to compete with this film.
And a PG-13 White House Down with a storyline of a para-military group taking over the White House and Jamie Foxx as the President & Channing Tatum playing cat & mouse games in the White House trying ways to defeat these guys sounds so much more believable. Definitely going to be a family film.
Olympus Has Fallen's early audience screenings have been getting high marks, I will be there on Friday to check the film out.
Why are you guys already writing this movie off before it comes out?
Wouldn't White House Down technically be the copycat if this came first, keep in mind nobody knows that movie exists. There has been one picture released and some ET bullshit? They need a trailer quick
who cares if it is cliche you act like that is a bad thing everything in cinema is cliche because everything has been done in some form or another
if it works it works no matter cliche or not