Olympus Has Fallen (2013) – Encore Review 2

“[while being dragged out of the White House] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America!” – Secretary of Defense Ruth McMillan

Number of Times Seen – 3 (2 Jul 2013, 12 Apr 2016 and 17 Nov 2019)

Link to original review – Here and Here

Brief Synopsis – After terrorists take over the White House, a secret service agent must find a way to save the President and stop a nuclear war.

My Take on it – This is a really enjoyable movie that fits perfectly into the genre created by the success of Die Hard (1988).

This is basically a Die Hard at the White House and they even thrown in a bunch of homages to that classic film that started it all.

The choice to do a one-man-against-terrorist scenario at the White House is such a great venue and the fact that so much of the layout of the defenses and structure are unknown actually helps make this scenario seem even more plausible.

The film chooses to keep the tone of things quite serious which make sit even more enjoyable to watch since they even make sure that they tone down the comic one liners usually associated with these kind of films.

Gerard Butler is perfectly cast in the lead and he makes this character come to life with the way he acts throughout.

He is such an engaging and interesting character to watch as the story unfolds in directions that one doesn’t always expect.

The plausibility of the story itself can be debated back and forth for a long time, but the fact remains that they find a way to present most of the story in a plausible and realistic fashion which allows for things to stay as grounded as possible as the story moves along.

The film is paced really well and things are constantly on the move and despite a few plot holes that don’t get tied up by the end, they do a superb job with things.

The action scenes are choreographed extremely well and that helps enhance the levels of tension and suspense throughout the film to a point where there are scenes that one is breathless because of the intensity of it all.

Unfortunately, the sequels to this film aren’t as good as this one is.

Bottom Line – Really enjoyable action thriller in the vane of Die Hard (1988) that works really well in the venue of Die Hard at the White House. The movie actually has a few nice homages to the classic one-man-against-terrorist scenario and it works really well throughout. The serious tone of the film works to its advantage and they even tone down the comic one liners after killing a bad guy. Butler is perfectly cast in this role and manages to keep things interesting and engaging throughout. The plausibility of the story can be debated back and forth for ages but the fact remains that they at least present things in a very realistic and plausible fashion while keeping things grounded. The film does have some plot holes, but they do their best to tie up and explain as many of them as they can as the story moves along at a lighting fast pace that works really well. The action scenes are choreographed superbly and keep both the tension and suspense level quite high as the story unfolds along the way. Highly Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – In the special features, it mentions that the attack on the White House was planned by former Secret Service agents who were asked how they would attack it if they had to. (From IMDB)

Rating – Oscar Worthy (9/10) (upgrade from original review)