Olympus Has Fallen

Starring: Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman, & Aaron Eckhart

Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

Olympus Has Fallen is the latest big budget action film from revolutionary Director, Antoine Fuqua. The film has a ton of stars and some great effects, but unfortunately it is very similar to a popular action classic. All is well in Washington, as the President prepares to meet with a delegation from South Korea. All of a sudden the capital is attacked and the White House is taken with some very important people still inside. The task of getting them out alive falls to one man, Secret Service Agent, Mike Banning (Gerard Butler). If you took the cast of the original Die Hard and had them re-shoot the movie, scene by scene, at the White House, you'd have Olympus Has Fallen. Normally I find Fuqua's take on the action genre, refreshing and original, but you wouldn't know it by watching this film. It is freaky how similar this film was to Die Hard, they even have some of the same twist, goals, types of terrorist, all that's missing is a short fat cop and a hand radio. Don't get me wrong, I did find the movie entertaining and Gerard Butler has really stepped up and taken the reigns as the lead you want in your action film. The effects are terrific and unlike Die Hard, this film has a ton of big named stars in it, that really do give the film some teeth. Olympus Has Fallen was a great idea, with a ton of stars, and the right Director. The film made a ton of money and gave us action junkies the edge of your seat entertainment we crave. If you saw Die Hard though, you're going to find many of the scenes familiar to the point of being ridiculous.