After "Machine Gun Preacher," "Playing For Keeps" and "Chasing Mavericks" (and we'll just go ahead an presume the omnibus comedy "Movie 43" is going to tank hard this weekend) Gerard Butler is in desperate need of a hit. Why on Earth he signed on to the cheaper, ripoff version of Roland Emmerich and Channing Tatum's "White House Down" is a question best left to his agent we guess, but FilmDistrict and Millenium are making sure theirs gets into theaters first. But judging by the new trailer for "Olympus Has Fallen," we'll be just fine waiting a few more months.
Laughably serious, Butler stars as the (sort of) disgraced Secret Service agent Mike Banning, who finds himself caught in the middle of an invasion by the guys from "Red Dawn" (or something) and then does his best to "Die Hard" the situation. With wheezy, tired one liners all over the place, and some pretty boilerplate action beats, this isn't too far away from feeling like a straight-to-DVD release. The only reason it seems like something slightly more is the presence of folks like I'll-Star-In-Anything Morgan Freeman, Aaron Eckhart, Angela Bassett, Robert Forster, Ashely Judd….oh wait, why isn't this straight-to-DVD again? (And yes, the timing of this trailer coming one day after the inauguration is either genius or tasteless. Maybe both…)
"Olympus Has Fallen" will bark commands on March 22nd. [via /Film]
This movie went into production first. The cast signed on because the script is supposed to be very good, much better than that of WHD. Why it has been considered the Hydrox to Emmerich's Oreo from the jump is beyond me. Both Fuqua and Emmerich can do action, both Fuqua and Emmerich are capable of making good movies as well as bad. OHF is the more serious of the two movies, with WHD supposedly more of a buddy movie with comedic tones.
Butler, by the way, has the chops. He's just not good at choosing projects. (And Machine Gun Preacher can't be considered a flop just because no one had the CHANCE to see it. Relativity tanked it on purpose.) It is possible for a good movie to have a bad trailer and vice versa. In any case. I'll see OHF and decide for myself.
Why see the movie when the trailer spells everything out for you?
this whole movie is a subplot from season 7 of "24".
While reading both scripts, I preferred this take over the beyond puny Vanderbilt script that takes way more from Die Hard than what this appears to have done. Though, to be fair, the action does look rather plastic and fake looking.
I come to the conclusion that Gerard Butler has simply given up on his career.
You definitely have your facts wrong. Olympus was first.
Looks like good action and an entertaining movie.
Absolutely watch it.
You have your facts wrong, Olympus Has Fallen was the first movie out of the gate, it was announced first and it was actually Sony and Emmerich that ripped-off Olympus Has Fallen.
Sony also has it's hands in both productions – Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is listed as one of Olympus Has Fallen's Productions companies.
According to another site Olympus Has Fallen has screen to good reviews so I am in to see it.
And Eckhart's the villain right. That'll be 'the twist' right?
3 people from "The Dark Knight". Looks pretty bad.
Koreans are the villains again… I wonder which part they are from. South or North?
The President doesn't drive to Camp David. He takes a helicopter.
John McClane meets Air Force One … it looks good, but it's going to have some tough time at Box Office ;-(