Rent Olympus Has Fallen (2013)
3.4 of 5 from 415 ratings
1h 54min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- When a group of heavily armed and meticulously trained extremists launch a daring daylight ambush on the White House, the President (Aaron Eckhart) and his staff are taken hostage inside an impenetrable underground bunker. Only former U.S. Secret Service agent, Mike Banning (Gerard Butler), is left in the besieged building to do the job he has trained for all his life: to protect the President - at all costs. Acting President (Morgan Freeman) must rely on Banning to rescue the President before the terrorists can unleash their ultimate terrifying plan.
- Actors:
- Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Finley Jacobsen, Dylan McDermott, Rick Yune, Angela Bassett, Melissa Leo, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, Phil Austin, James Ingersoll, Freddy Bosche, Lance Broadway, Sean O'Bryan, Keong Sim, Kevin Moon, Malana Lea, Robert Forster, Sam Medina
- Directors:
- Antoine Fuqua
- Producers:
- Gerard Butler, Ed Cathell III, Mark Gill, Alan Siegel, Antoine Fuqua, Danny Lerner
- Writers:
- Creighton Rothenberger, Katrin Benedikt
- Studio:
- Lionsgate Films
- Genres:
- Action & Adventure, Thrillers
- Collections:
- Getting to Know..., Getting to Know: Angela Bassett, History of US Presidents in Cinema: Part 2, A Brief History of Film...
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 26/08/2013
- Run Time:
- 119 minutes
- Languages:
- English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 2.35:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Gag Reel
- The Epic Ensemble
- The Making Of 'Olimpus Has Fallen'
- Deconstruction The Black Hawk Sequence
- Ground Combat: Fighting The Terrorists
- Creating The Action: VFX and Design
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Reviews (2) of Olympus Has Fallen
Fallen for every cliche in the Hollywood book! - Olympus Has Fallen review by CS
Nothing new or different here, just your bog standard disaster action movie. This would have been quite a good film if it had not been for all the excessively typical American Patriot flag waving and the typically nauseating America saves the World routine, with of course a little bit of good old fashioned God fearing thrown in as well, as we have come to expect from almost every big Hollywood Blockbuster nowadays! It's a shame because take all that out and it would have been a good action movie, but this really is strictly for the American market and I feel that elsewhere the Good ole US of A routine will be seen as just a bit too sickly sweet for worldwide consumption, especially in the European market!!
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
A decent & enjoyable Friday night action film with Butler on reliable tough-guy mode - Olympus Has Fallen review by TB
The first in the Has Fallen franchise, this came in the same year as White House Down, although they are in many ways very different films. The main one being that whilst White House Down was a 12A rated family friendly action film, this is a no-holds barred at times extremely violent 15 rated adult film. But it is also extremely enjoyable & a proper old-style action thriller.
The story is fairly standard fare: Gerard Butler plays Mike Banning, an ex-special forces soldier who is on the President's security team. After a tragedy at work, he steps back & works for a different department, but still "conveniently" has kept up all his skills whilst sat behind a desk. Then, when the government of South Korea arrives on a state visit, the North Koreans stage a coup to try & capture them. And there is only one person who can stop them...
As much as it is schlocky, these are the types of films that Butler does extremely well. He is an absolute unit in this film, built like you wouldn't believe, but also with a vulnerability that is quite an interesting facet of the character. Exactly what you'd expect to happen happens, but this film wears it's clichés with pride. There are action scenes, crossing and double-crossing and the stand-off at the end.
One point about this film which normally would be a negative for me, but which the film leads into in such a charming way it actually benefits it is the at times staggeringly bad effects and CGI. Parts of this film you'd shocked were greenlit to be put in, when looking at it. But this is very much in the spirit of the film & the adventure.
Butler and the others do solid if uninspiring work, however by the end of the film, if you allow yourself to buy into the spirit of it, you'll have a stupid grin plastered across your face. The sequels are a mixed bag, however much of the same spirit remains.
A great Friday night film which you can enjoy if you don't think too closely about it.
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.
Critic review
Olympus Has Fallen review by Alyse Garner - Cinema Paradiso
Gerad Butler stars in this all American action by Training Day director Antoine Fuqua as a disgraced secret service agent who, following a terrorist attack on the Whitehouse (codenamed Mount Olympus) and the kidnapping of the President, is forced to use his inside knowledge to thwart the plans of Korean mastermind Kang.
With a plot that even on paper seemed painfully formulaic Olympus has Fallen does everything you would expect of this calibre of American action movie; so much so in fact that the film very quickly becomes boring and unimaginative.
On the surface the plot has just as much, or little, to offer as the majority of Hollywood action films, what it lacks however is any substance of character – even something as simple as the wise-cracking side kick would have provided a little comic relief. Instead the film caters entirely for the safest, blandest and most obvious palette; Butler’s secret agent Banning is a dyed in the wool patriot who would take a bullet for his President – but there is nothing to compliment his personality further save the briefest interchange with his wife that suggests working for your country doesn’t leave too much room for romance.
The other casting choices are equally predictable; Aaron Eckhart with his square jawed good looks is a caricature of an American president whilst Morgan Freeman phones it in as the Speaker of the House.
There is nothing particularly hateful about Olympus has Fallen, just an overwhelming sense of dissatisfaction as you watch with the knowledge that all involved really could have done better.