Olympus Has Fallen

Aaron Eckhart plays the president of the united states, and Gerard Butler starts off by playing the head of his secret service detail. The movie opens up with the two of them boxing, with Butler getting the better of it. Suddenly I am seeing visions of the president knocking out terrorist left and right later in the film. Sadly that never happens, the president actually is portrayed rather weakly in this film. More on that later though, for now back to the story.

The movie starts out rather quickly, there is a situation that requires a snap judgement. Butler goes with protocol, and what would be viewed as the correct decision by most. The President wanted him to go against that, and as such has him removed from his station. The whole movie is based around this one point, and hinges on it greatly. You already know we lose the white house, its in the title and every preview you see for the film. However the only reason it happens is because Butler's replacement can't do what he did. He is unable to follow protocol and instead gives into what the President wanted. If not for that, the situation would have been vastly different. I wouldn't say it was a issue for the film, but it was something I kept thinking about. One issue I did have though was the scene in which the house is taken. A small group of North Koreans use their superior military strength and tactics to take the most well guarded building in less then 15 minutes. They use a plane to start the attack and set up the ground forces. You see the white house use some of its anti air weaponry against it, and it fails. However they do not use everything they have, a point which is made quite clear later on in the film when we try to do the same thing to take it back. Suddenly the house has a new weapon which is much more efficient in that situation, why didn't we use that before during the attack? 

Another issue is the President as a character. The terrorist want something, the President basically hands it to them throughout the movie. He is shown as weak, and because of that the country is put in great jeopardy. In a movie that only really works because of the patriotic vibe it has going, this just seemed like a poor decision. I think they were trying to make him more likable, as he was worried more about his staff then keeping our secrets. But in the end it just pissed me off. There is a scene where one of his female staff is being beaten by the main villain. She is bloody and you can tell its getting bad, but she doesn't break. Seeing the president order her to give up the information that can compromise the nation just made me dislike him.

Thankfully the movie isn't entirely about the President, it is mostly about Butler. As a matter of fact, it is mostly about Butler beating people to death. And in that regard, it does very well. Butler is brutal, and even made me think of Liam Neeson from Taken more then once. He has a scene where he "interrogates" two terrorist for info that was just superb. Really his inclusion makes this film so much harder to judge. Seeing the Terrorist kill and murder cops and civilians makes you angry. You have a patriotic surge of emotion when you see certain things going on in the film. Butler goes berserk and you get some good action and fight sequences. All in all, it sounds like a winner. But its not, or at least it wasn't for me. The movie was built on to many uncertainties. Simple things like the white houses defenses not all being used during the attack. The President breaking protocol to unknowingly aid the terrorist. Butler being sent to another position early on in the film, taking him away from the main event. When your film has a handful of events that are not planned, but magically happen allowing your dastardly plan to succeed....well there is a issue. It feels weird saying I want to believe North Korea could take down the white house and capture the President. However if any of those events had not magically occurred, the movie would have been very different and a lot shorter. Heck, they probably could use the "Team America" catch phrase as the title of that short film. 

So in closing we are presented with a enjoyable and emotional ride through a film filled with annoyances. If it would have just been Butler stabbing and punching people, it would have rated higher probably. However President Eckhart just drags the whole thing down. Add in in circumstances that just make you shake your head, and you get a okay film at best. For a redbox rental, it is not to bad. I wouldn't buy it though, pay the 1.27 and just watch it for the action.