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Olympus Has Fallen Review

Gerard Butler Dies Hard in the White House…

A film seemingly released 20 years too late, Olympus Has Fallen is a very early 90s, Die Hard-style action flick - featuring racial stereotypes, ludicrous situations, excessive violence and a hard fighting, wisecracking hero.
Gerard Butler plays Mike Banning, a former Secret Service agent who has been bumped down to a desk job after failing to save President Benjamin Asher’s (Aaron Eckhart) wife during a tragic accident.
But when the White House comes under attack from a North Korean terrorist who takes the President hostage in a secure underground bunker, Banning is forced to mount a one-man rescue operation where the combined might of the US Army and law enforcement agencies has failed.
While he lacks Bruce Willis' knack of delivering a deadpan quip while stabbing someone in the head, Butler makes a pretty good fist as an action hero, and is the focus of the film throughout.
The usually great Eckhart is curiously underused as the POTUS, spending most of the film handcuffed to a railing, Melissa Leo and Rick Yune are both ridiculously hammy in their respective roles as Secretary Of State McMillan and terrorist leader Kang, while Morgan Freeman appears to have wandered in from another film to play Speaker Trumbull and acting President.
Despite its many faults, Olympus Has Fallen does have a certain popcorn charm, with director Antoine Fuqua wisely concentrating on the action rather than the paper-thin plot.

As an audience member you'd be advised to do the same, or you could just dig out an old copy of Die Hard and save yourself the ticket price.
Gavin Cullen @mtvuknews

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