MOVIE REVIEW - Olympus Has Fallen

Here we go again, yet another "end of the world, end of the country" flick, Olympus Has Fallen is new this week.   Can we get any more unimaginative? 

Here a group of Korean radicals led by the worlds most wanted terrorist infiltrates the U.S. Government, and attacks the White House taking the President, Vice-President and many members of his cabinet hostage.  In in exchange, they want essentially the Korean War restarted with the withdrawal of all American presence in that area, leaving the world in chaos. (And you never really learn exactly why).  And of course they want to destroy America because we have too much, blah, blah, blah. 

Lucky for the U.S.A. we have Mike Banning (Gerard Butler).   He is a troubled Secret Service agent who is our only hope as he somehow gets into the burned out White House and goes on a one man killing spree to save the President who is hostage in the official White House Bunker 120 feet below ground.  And lucky too for us, we have Speaker Of The House Trumball (Morgan Freeman), who is now in charge, and who quite frankly needs to grow some kind of spine, and that's just the beginning.   But I bet everything works out, don't you?

Let's start with the pro's.  Director Antoine Fuqua is very skilled and some of this is fairly well done. He wastes no time pulling you into the action, as the big attack scene is right up front.  There are some moments of very compelling action early, then it kind of becomes gratuitous and silly.  There is a very well used and very dramatic musical soundtrack, and some clever filming techniques that help get this off the ground.   Then, there's the rest of this.

This story, the characters, the stereotypes and spoken chiches' just kill this, and it dies a horrible death.  This becomes as silly as Air Force One, or a Die Hard rip-off.  But in its slight defense, you start to realize they are not out to make a "real" movie here, just a half-fun, half entertaining one for the gullible who already paid, me included. Instead of being concerned about being good and original, it becomes concerned about being cartoon-ish.

Again, the U.S. military is portrayed as this bumbling, stumbling Keystone Cops kind of crew with completely inept people running it at the top. Various actors are cast as ridiculous caricatures of themselves again.  I didn't know that the Secret Service at the White House is a bunch of chubby guys in suits with tiny pistols, who don't have the sense to wear bulletproof vests, while on duty.  And of course both groups are no match for 30 or so Korean terrorists.

I also had no idea it takes 20 minutes for the military to even respond to the White House being attacked, as they got there late.  And the Air Force isn't left out either, as they of course are clueless too.  Did you know that you can fly a huge gunship all the way from,...somewhere right over the east coast, and right into Washington DC, and shoot up the White House with no resistance? 

The government leaders as also portrayed as spineless, helpless ethic-less people who are willing to sacrifice the peace of the entire world for......nothing.  But these are the clues you are given that tells you all this is, is a silly, ridiculous comic book come to life, as virtually nothing in this is half way authentic.  This is a bad Top Gun, or an even worse Air Force One.  This turns out to be a bad superhero movie come to life, only without a flying guy in a cape.  And in case you're wondering, there are many obligatory, "helpless and we can't do anything right" scenes during the hostage taking, in the situation room, and the cheering and hugging scenes when it all works out.

Olympus Has Fallen.  This will find an audience, and some will cheer it on.  But, in the end is just a ultra violent, silly sell-out yet again.  Can we have some microscopic level of authenticity, please?