Olympus Has Fallen an Entertaining Action Yarn
By
Kristin Battestella
Even
after seeing a resurgence of ‘Butler Did It’ charm in all the press,
interviews, and promotions for Olympus
Has Fallen, it still took me more than six weeks to catch Gerard Butler’s
latest kick ass action release at the cinema. This first of two 2013 ‘Save the
White House’ thrillers is waning in theatres now, and only three other people
attended my early morning showing. Don’t
you know it; two of them talked most of the time! What are the odds?
Ex-Ranger
and Secret Service Agent Mike Banning (Butler)
is removed from President Benjamin Asher’s (Aaron Eckhart) detail after a
deadly car accident. Secret Service Director Lynne Jacobs (Angela Bassett)
places Banning in a desk job at the U.S. Treasury where he watches helplessly as
Kang Yeonsak (Rick Yune) and his North Korean terrorists lay siege upon the
White House. Kang holds President Asher
and Secretary of Defense Ruth McMillan (Melissa Leo) hostage in an underground
bunker while Speaker of the House Allan Trumbull (Morgan Freeman) must take
control of the Nation. Using his previous knowledge from his time with the
President, Banning is able to infiltrate the locked down White House in hopes
of rescuing Asher and stopping Kang before valuable codes and nuclear fail-safes
are compromised and threaten the globe.
That
indeed pretty much sums up Olympus Has
Fallen, which has understandably been compared to classic action fair like Die Hard or Under Siege. Honestly, when I first saw the trailers and promotions
several months ago, I was reminded not of Die
Hard so much as a more obscure, cheesy film called Chain of Command. This White House under attack story from new
writers Creighton Rothenberg and Katrin Benedikt is simplistic enough, but director
Antoine Fugua (Training Day) unfolds all
the places, characters, and situations nicely. Critical people are in peril – some are brave
and heroic while others are stupid and make mistakes. The first hour of the
film smartly layers this character angst, and one may even suspect Olympus Has Fallen has something more
sinister up its sleeve. Despite a few
surprises and the opportunity for more round table depth and crisis emotion
from the excellent ensemble – which might have taken this flick to the next
level – there’s no need to make this straightforward action tale too complex. The
second half of the film dispenses with any possible subterfuge and sticks to a
strictly procedural execution. The clock is ticking and predictable firefights
and kicking butt has to happen – and this is where the Die Hard motifs are most apparent. There is some humor, catchy
quips, and chuckle moments both intentional and unintentional, but any more wit
or sarcasm might have been a total Die
Hard rip off. It’s played serious
and may be a little rough around the edges, but Olympus Has Fallen does exactly what it set out to do, no more and
no less.
Granted,
it’s preposterous that the mass movements and aviation logistics of these North
Korean radicals would go unnoticed much less proceed as swiftly as they do to
set Olympus Has Fallen in motion. However, even with a suspension of disbelief
and over a decade on since 9/11, it is very difficult to watch such an effective,
action packed terrorist attack on the White House. The large-scale but
character based intensity may be outlandish and movie cool but it doesn’t resort
to bombastic impossibilities every second ala Transformers. Thus, Olympus
Has Fallen stays disturbingly real, graphic, and hard hitting. The expected
action approach and systematic twists are entertaining in their heavy, if overly
serious delivery and it’s pleasing to see a solid R rated film instead of a
watered down PG-13 easy. Olympus Has Fallen stays smart with
precious little blood and no over the top glorification of violence, but the editing
feels uneven. Some scenes simply happen too fast to see all the action. This
frenetic camera style works for the daylight attack action, but it’s tough for dark
or nighttime scenes. Despite being a solid two hours, Olympus Has Fallen seems a bit too quick, with a hasty ending
lacking in hugs, handshakes, ceremonies, or a literal picking up the pieces. A few
more minutes of resolution might have gone a long way in resolving some of the
characters left hanging.
He’s
back! After toiling in the Hollywood banal with
these crappy ass rom coms, 300 star
Gerard Butler surprisingly fits the role of Mike Banning to a T. Yes, viewers immediately realize he’s not an
American, but it almost doesn’t even matter. We believe Butler to start Olympus Has Fallen when all is cool for Banning just as we believe his
disgrace and redeeming progression to kick ass. The character may be mostly superficial
and not as sardonic as audiences may have hoped, but there’s nothing wrong with
having a straightforward hero in a film like this. Banning’s secret service
formalities and protocols are shed as the action gets down, dirty, and deadly,
and Butler proves his special forces, one man killing machine presence and all
around bad assery with some intense mano y mano fight scenes. There’s no need
for a clichéd, over the top camouflage painting, shouting in the mirror muscle
flexing, or beefing up weapons montage ala Rambo or Schwarzenegger here. It’s
nice to have someone take names and save the day instead of the 21st
century trend towards ambiguous, grey, anti-heroes taking things down dark and
deep, too. Banning’s suave in a suit
whether he’s stuck at a desk or killing bad guys with his bare hands and saving
kids. What’s not to love? I do wish Butler could have used his
natural Scottish accent, but nowadays one is accustomed to his in between
American sound anyway. Unfortunately, there should have been more scenes with
Banning’s onscreen wife Radha Mitchell (Pitch
Black), who is doubly under utilized as a wife in crisis and a nurse on the
frontlines of the terrorist trauma. It might be a bit much, but I dare say I’d
like to see further Banning, Secret
Service Detail sequels or adventures. Butler
produced Olympus Had Fallen, after
all, so why not? Let him making steady action yarns like this – as opposed to
some of those erroneous, desperate comedies. Butler needs to reinvent himself with this action
effectiveness, but he has to stop doing most of his own stunts. In addition to
whatever health issues and Hollywood vices with
which he may struggle, some of this stuff really has to hurt!
Although
there isn’t much character development in Olympus
Has Fallen, the supporting players deliver as expected. Angela Bassett (What’s Love Got to Do with It), Morgan Freeman (seriously?), and
Melissa Leo (The Fighter) may each seem
too big a talent for their respective roles, but they keep things entertaining
when the camera is away from Butler.
Iffy dialogue aside, Freeman shows his usual cool, with a touch of argument and
crisis for good measure. Unfortunately, once each in the ensemble has his or
her moment, they seem to disappear from the picture or have their stories
easily resolved in a few scenes. Olympus
Has Fallen hints to further scandal, intrigue, interactions, and emotion
from these players, but as is, we get just enough to move the plot along. Cole Hauser
(Ironically also of A Good Day to Die
Hard) doesn’t get to do much, and although he’s good, the script fails Dylan
McDermott (The Practice). Fortunately,
Rick Yune (Die Another Day) as Kang adds
some strong twists and suspense to what could easily have been clichéd villainy,
but I’m not sure why his plans and most of Ashley Judd’s (Kiss the Girls) element are spoiled in the trailer. Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) also suffers in the
suave department, as he is, after all, a president taken hostage. Nonetheless,
he delivers the tough lines whilst also keeping the family moments tender. In
some ways, it feels like he and Butler
make a good buddy team, and I wish there was a bit more back-story on their
friendship. How did Banning and POTUS become friends? What if there had been a
history between Banning and the First Lady? Why did Banning tell the Trumbull to go F himself?
Touching upon these little things more would have added further dimension to Olympus Has Fallen, so here’s hoping
there are some deleted scenes on the forthcoming DVD.
Action
may be its primary focus, but Olympus Has
Fallen has some surprisingly unfinished effects and CGI. Not only is some photography
simply too dark, but the Washington
Monument scenes look
incomplete, even amateur. Tricks and a reliance on computer imagery to recreate
the White House are also apparent, even if the subsequent destruction is eerily
well done. Naturally, I imagine the security protocols, call signs, and nuclear
specifications aren’t genuine, but the use of intercut news and media footage
is awkward. CNN can get closer to the action then the Pentagon and national
security decisions are made based upon our crisis center’s watching of this
news coverage? Misspellings on the news scrolls and television screens are
plain to see, too. Whoops! Thankfully, the helicopter action, plane explosions,
and machine gun fire exceed expectations. Perhaps the lengthy shootouts,
gunshot wounds, and triage scenes even feel too realistic – but Olympus Has Fallen must show this action
realism in order for the audience to accept the eventual rah rah heroics. The man-to-man
fight choreography is intense and very well done, if tough to see at times due
to claustrophobic, close quarters locations or the aforementioned dark filming.
However, these are blessedly not 3D fake, Matrix
panoramic, overly lit, and seemingly unrealistic ninja standoffs. I’m so
glad Olympus Has Fallen didn’t resort
to stereotypical, racist martial arts fights on top of today’s often awe
struck, over produced action. Blows are exchanged, shots are fired, kill moves
are made, next. The design isn’t super high tech, either – although some of the
basic flat screens, standard smart phones, and current computer technology
depicted will surely be dated soon. The hash tag reference is also too of the moment
and the brief video game appearances have a whiff of product placement. Mercifully,
there isn’t as much cool gizmos, fictitious gadgetry, or pop culture crutches
as there could be, and Olympus Has Fallen
smartly keeps the action more mature, even traditional. Yes, why not have
another eighties action hey day this century?
For
those interested in the trailers along with Olympus
Has Fallen, there wasn’t much for which I’d return to the theater to see. Monsters University
had a fun, college commercial angle to it, but The Internship feels like the same old Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson
retread. How many times are these middle-aged guys going to hang around with
the same twenty something college plot elements? After Earth does look very good, but Will and Jaden Smith’s paging
Dr. Nepotism takes over its charm. Thankfully, Man of Steel looks promising. Of course, there was no trailer for that other
Die Hard in the White House flick White House Down, hehe. Olympus Has Fallen is already available
for pre order on blu-ray from Amazon – probably to keep it fresh in audiences’
minds as the R rated, badass, cheaper home video alternative now that White House Down is indeed afoot for the
summer. Though it’s not uncommon to have
annoyingly similar but different dual approaches in Hollywood – Mirror Mirror and Snow White
and the Hunstman for example, or the musical Sweeney Todd compared to Ray Winstone’s straight adaptation – it is
ridiculously bizarre to have two so similarly plotted films out at nearly the
same time. Could Olympus Has Fallen have
shaken itself up by making Banning an intriguingly traumatized secret service
agent who messes up and bleakly doesn’t save the day? Haven’t we seen enough of
that cynicism or forced political propaganda and self-referential heavy
already? I really enjoyed Olympus Has
Fallen’s win the day John Wayne
modern hero and modestly mature if sometimes mindless action.
Terrorist
violence, possible political controversies, and unevenly fleshed out but mostly
straightforward telling notwithstanding, Olympus
Has Fallen has been a box office success and a return to form for Gerard
Butler. Audiences will shout at the screen during the White House takeover or
call out other plot holes, but there were times when I was holding my breath at
the intensity and smiling at the kick ass. This is either a film you love and can watch over and over or something
you immediately hate and will not finish much less ever see again. Non-action
fans or viewers expecting a complex political thriller will probably dislike Olympus Has Fallen, but old school
action audiences and fans of the cast can delight here. Is Olympus Has Fallen a bad movie? No. Could it have been a heavy,
emotional, political thriller? Sure, but this isn’t meant to be a statement
making movie – even if the cast is here for such meaty. Take Olympus Has Fallen for what it is, a fictional,
entertaining depiction of us kicking some butt.
We’ve
raided the horror video vaults yet again in search of more frights and mayhem
from that irrepressible, diabolic duo: Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing! Their
upcoming May birthdays are the perfect excuse for a quick list of creepy, oft-scary
combinations, and warm weather horror.
Crypt
of the Vampire – I’m not sure
about his hair, but golly Christopher Lee looks young in this black and white
1963 foreign creepy also titled Terror in
the Crypt. While all sexy screaming ladies are dubbed, Lee’s commanding
voice adds to his suave count/pimp style – complete with monogrammed smoking
jacket, blonde mistress, and spooky castle.
Cool carriages, fearful forests, good gothic sets, candles, and mood
lighting help to forgive the weird narrations and fast and cheap production.
The time period is also some kind of 19th century – the looks are
effective but a little nondescript in establishing a year – but fortunately,
nightmarish innuendo, shades of skin, and saucy rituals make up the difference.
Billowing winds, creaking doors, and ghostly tolling bells also up some very
scary moments in the final half hour despite the relative lack of vamps or
blood. Interestingly, the family name here is Karnstein, and the female implications
are similar to the so-called Karnstein trilogy of vampire movies from Hammer.
Of course, some of this back-story might get confusing onscreen, and the poor
sound, cheap DVD quality, and foreign filmmaking hiccups might make this tough
for some. However, this relatively solid 90 minutes will be fun for gothic
audiences and Lee fans. 
I,
Monster – The DVD presentation
for this 1971 twisted take on Robert Louis Stevenson from Amicus is cheap with
a bad print, varying color saturation, and poor sound. Nevertheless, the experimentation and
psychoanalysis spins on the Jekyll and Hyde theme are intriguing thanks to
great debates at the apathetic Victorian gentleman’s club on good and evil or nature
versus nurture and the Freudian analysis on horror by the disturbed Doctor
Christopher Lee and the suave solicitor Peter Cushing. Though perhaps slow to start and the gruesome
mad scientist laboratory is not for feline friends; there is a lot of red and colorful
set decoration in the faux Hammer spirit.
Scenes with slick Dr. Lee and his lady patients are also wonderfully
ambiguous, racy, and fun to watch. Is he evil or just taking the amoral of his
medicine too far? The quiet transition scenes, silent-esque performances, and
orchestrated score ala the 1920 Dr. Jekyll
and Mr. Hyde show the viewer the suffering personality changes and freaky
progression of depravity with just enough horror make up and violence to
accentuate a scary death or two. Some
longtime fans may find this one a Lee and Cushing retread with the real frights
and gore elsewhere, but the impressive take on the oft-told Jekyll and Hyde
make this somewhat hidden gem worthwhile.
Tale
of the Mummy – Director Russell
Mulcahy (Highlander) assembled a
pretty impressive cast for this 1998 creepy – including Jason Scott Lee, Sean
Pertwee, Lysette Anthony, Honor Blackman, Shelly Duvall, and brief appearances
by Gerard Butler, and of course, Christopher Lee. Though not a big appearance, the
commanding and authentic Sir Christopher helps the period archaeology, dangerous
digs, and ancient astronomical threats build, and we know the high tech follow
ups and Egyptian mysticism designs will lead to some scary supernatural
elements and creative kill scenes. The then modern club scenes and hip music,
however, are very dated, and today’s CGI accustomed viewers may find the mummy
wrapping effects corny. The Egyptian flashbacks also should have started the
tale at its beginning, rather than letting several tomb discoveries and false starts
slowly set up events. Though much more fearful in tone then the action fun of
Brendan Fraser’s The Mummy, it might have
been interesting to see the action here remain exclusively in Egypt with
ancient curses and desert madness horrors instead of the London escape and
investigation. Nonetheless, the pace moves nicely, and I know I would have much
rather seen sequels to this than the Fraser continuations we did receive. Of
course, we can’t even give this a proper, restored director’s cut video release
stateside. Typical. 
Gerry,
Gerry. Gerry, Gerry, Gerry! I really sort of stopped following Gerard Butler ahead
of all the magazine covers and jet setting PR for The Bounty Hunter. It was obviously a comparable attempt with you
know who – cough Mr. and Mrs. Smith cough
– and it seemed just a bit too absurd when reminded of his off screen
dedication for 300. I saw all the tabloids and read the real life
romance rumors and thought, “Well he’s made it, and now it’s all downhill.” Sadly, the last few years have indeed been
rocky for Butler.
Whether he was willingly into the scene or led astray by the rumor mill, Hollywood has chewed him
up and spit him out – as evident by this very film. Now when Butler does make something of note, nobody
sees it thanks to his rightly or wrongly garnered notoriety. Is he that bad of
an actor? No. Does he have onscreen presence and charisma? Definitely. Even
here, despite the bad script and forced hyperbole, his Milo
is charming in the straight humorous antics, tracking mud on the carpet and
eating Doritos on a white bedspread. I kind of like Butler more brawny than
super skinny, and he looks great in The
Bounty Hunter – with enough scruff, action casual style, and some wet and
obligatory towel scenes. However, I’m not sure about his American accent here. It’s
not super bad, but there’s really no reason for him to not let his Scottish brogue
run free. Unfortunately, despite Gerry eye candy, I couldn’t wait for The Bounty Hunter to end. Not only did
this film not do him any A-list favors, but ultimately, The Bounty Hunter may have sent his career into a nosedive – from
which, Butler may have only recently recovered. I’m looking forward to seeing
the acclaimed but too little noticed Coriolanus
and Machine Gun Preacher, but Butler’s public return to
glory (hehe, “Spartans! Prepare for glory!”) depends on the box office success
of his new flick Olympus Has Fallen. Although I must say, I did
really, really like that one!
