Olympus Has Fallen
National security actioner from the director of Training Day, starring Gerard Butler as Mike Banning - a disgraced Presidential guard who finds himself trapped in the White House when terrorists capture the building and kidnap the President (Aaron Eckhart). Also stars Ashley Judd as Mrs President and Morgan Freeman as second-in-command.
When the White House (Secret Service Code: 'Olympus') is seized by the shadowy group, Banning gets trapped within the building. As the authorities scramble to respond, they are forced to rely on Banning's inside knowledge to help retake the White House, save the President, and avert a nationwide disaster.
Reviews & comments
Variety
pressA North Korean terrorist may be responsible for taking the president hostage, but it’s Bulgarian-made CGI that does the most damage in Antoine Fuqua’s intense, ugly, White-House-under-siege actioner Olympus Has Fallen.
Total Film
pressAn orgy of bloody explosions that’d be tough to endure if it weren’t so inadvertently self-parodic.
Los Angeles Times
pressA typical slab of Hollywood action in which the White House crumbles under attack, the American flag is tattered and tossed aside by baddies, and clichés rise like gods.
Hollywood Reporter
pressGenerates a fair amount of tension and produces the kind of nationalistic outrage that rock-ribbed Americans will feel in their guts.
Empire Magazine
pressA grippingly brutal first act and strong cast can't stop this turning into a Steven Seagal film well before the end.
Chicago Sun-Times
pressWhile Olympus Has Fallen breaks no major new ground in the political thriller genre, Fuqua has directed a sharp, very taut adventure that keeps you engrossed from start to finish.
A.V. Club
pressThe one and only consolation for audiences is that the end of the world would never, ever happen this way.
Olympus Has fallen and Whitehouse down (WHD). Are both bases on similar premis. As an action moive it was OK but it was unfortunate that the production of the movie coincided and competed with the production of OHF. Not a bad action movie but lost points for originality. I'm saying the same thing for WHD. A disappointing 2/5.
it only gets a star cos i like seeing bloody gore in action movies but what tripe of course the prez is young + physically capable, but oh oh, he's also vulnerable and grieving. and soooo in love with his wife cliched from the get-go and far too full of flag-waving [literally] to be of any real appeal
Action packed, unbelievably good and very entertaining. The sequence of events and level of planning was incredibly good. Sure there's holes technically as there is for any action flick. Action flicks are action flicks and we enjoy them for what they bring. Suspense, fighting, action. The fight scenes are superb. I note the many 3 star ratings but those...
Tried and tested formula for gung ho entertaining rubbish and cool special effects. Gotta quesion the timing of the release tho'
I had low expectations going in to this but was pleasantly surprised with what a basic tough guy action film it is. It moves at a fast click, never milking any strand more than it should. There is a bit of 'God Bless America', but a small price for what is an unashamed action romp. Butler, also, has never been as likeable.
Can't decide whether its just a "How To" Guide on Attacking the White House, or whether its "Die Hard At The White House" but without the dry comedy Bruce Willis would have brought. An ok movie if you don't have any inkling on how the military actually operates, don't mind endless gruesome deaths, and a very predictable plot. Not a first date movie. More a...
Variety
pressA North Korean terrorist may be responsible for taking the president hostage, but it’s Bulgarian-made CGI that does the most damage in Antoine Fuqua’s intense, ugly, White-House-under-siege actioner Olympus Has Fallen.
Total Film
pressAn orgy of bloody explosions that’d be tough to endure if it weren’t so inadvertently self-parodic.
Los Angeles Times
pressA typical slab of Hollywood action in which the White House crumbles under attack, the American flag is tattered and tossed aside by baddies, and clichés rise like gods.
Hollywood Reporter
pressGenerates a fair amount of tension and produces the kind of nationalistic outrage that rock-ribbed Americans will feel in their guts.
Empire Magazine
pressA grippingly brutal first act and strong cast can't stop this turning into a Steven Seagal film well before the end.
Chicago Sun-Times
pressWhile Olympus Has Fallen breaks no major new ground in the political thriller genre, Fuqua has directed a sharp, very taut adventure that keeps you engrossed from start to finish.
A.V. Club
pressThe one and only consolation for audiences is that the end of the world would never, ever happen this way.
Olympus Has fallen and Whitehouse down (WHD). Are both bases on similar premis. As an action moive it was OK but it was unfortunate that the production of the movie coincided and competed with the production of OHF. Not a bad action movie but lost points for originality. I'm saying the same thing for WHD. A disappointing 2/5.
it only gets a star cos i like seeing bloody gore in action movies but what tripe of course the prez is young + physically capable, but oh oh, he's also vulnerable and grieving. and soooo in love with his wife cliched from the get-go and far too full of flag-waving [literally] to be of any real appeal
Action packed, unbelievably good and very entertaining. The sequence of events and level of planning was incredibly good. Sure there's holes technically as there is for any action flick. Action flicks are action flicks and we enjoy them for what they bring. Suspense, fighting, action. The fight scenes are superb. I note the many 3 star ratings but those...
Tried and tested formula for gung ho entertaining rubbish and cool special effects. Gotta quesion the timing of the release tho'
I had low expectations going in to this but was pleasantly surprised with what a basic tough guy action film it is. It moves at a fast click, never milking any strand more than it should. There is a bit of 'God Bless America', but a small price for what is an unashamed action romp. Butler, also, has never been as likeable.
Can't decide whether its just a "How To" Guide on Attacking the White House, or whether its "Die Hard At The White House" but without the dry comedy Bruce Willis would have brought. An ok movie if you don't have any inkling on how the military actually operates, don't mind endless gruesome deaths, and a very predictable plot. Not a first date movie. More...
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