Olympus Has Fallen

RATING: C

In 2013, there were two incredibly alike films released that both focused on White House terrorist attacks. There was the insanely frantic Roland Emmerich intense action thriller White House Down, which proved to be one of the director's better films. There was also Olympus Has Fallen, which was *much* more violent and a bit more realistic, and yet somehow more forgettable. 

Olympus Has Fallen's plot centers around a terrorist attack that springs during the middle of a meeting between U.S. President Asher (Aaron Eckhart) and the South Korean Prime Minister; led by a North Korean terrorist trying to reunify Korea (and not seemingly for the better). Nearly the entire Secret Service is killed; and the President is taken hostage while the terrorists begin to run their evil plan. And who's left to get the President out and save the day? Channing Tatum's character--oh wait, wrong movie. Gerard Butler's character Mike Banning, ex-Special Forces and current Secret Service. 

In many ways, if you've already seen White House Down, the basic plot is pretty doggone similar. White House is taken by terrorists, President is held hostage, and an action hero comes in to save the day. The only real differences are the type of terrorists and their motivations--plus the fact that the hero's daughter is also a hostage in WHD. To a degree, once you've seen one, you've seen both. 

That said, Olympus Has Fallen moves a bit more slowly than White House Down does following the initial attack. The suspense is still there somewhat, but there's less of the explosive battles and drawn-out fistfights and more quick skirmishes with Jason Bourne-esque moves winning the day. Olympus gets its biggest sequence out of the way early with the initial attack, which is admittedly quite intense and well done. What happens afterwards is all the infiltration stuff which is interesting at the time but ultimately quite forgettable. The only real memorable part afterwards is the ending fight between Gerard Butler and the unexpectedly skilled-at-fighting main villain. 

Olympus Has Fallen should be a mildly entertaining ride for most action/adventure fans, and it does benefit from strong acting on the part of Aaron Eckhart, Gerard Butler and Morgan Freeman. Ultimately, though, between the two 2013 White House terrorist attack films, I have to go with White House Down. It will be interesting to see whether London Has Fallen can prove to be a bit more groundbreaking.