2013 | R | 1h 59m | Action, Thriller
When it comes to film and TV franchises, action thrillers tend to be among the most popular. There are many examples of successful action thriller series: Mission: Impossible, James Bond, John Wick, and, of course, one of my favorites, The Equalizer films starring Denzel Washington.
One of the things that I like about action thrillers is that they can provide “what if” scenarios of real-life situations and, if done right, link to socio-cultural and/or geopolitical events reflective of a timeline the particular films are being produced in.
It’s no surprise that one of my favorite contemporary directors, Antoine Fuqua, not only directed The Equalizer series, but also the Has Fallen films, another popular ongoing franchise. The Has Fallen series began in 2013 with “Olympus Has Fallen,” which blew away another White-House-under-attack movie that debuted that same year, “White House Down.”
“Olympus” follows the trials and tribulations of U.S. Army Ranger-turned-Secret Service Agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler), who heads up a special detail responsible for protecting the president of the United States, President Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart), and his wife and young son.
During the film’s dramatic opening scene that helps to set up Banning’s motivations, the Secret Service is escorting the president, his wife, and son to a fundraiser over icy roads, when suddenly the first family’s limo spins out of control. To Banning’s horror, the limo gets stuck halfway hanging off of a bridge. Let’s just say that tragedy strikes, and Banning ends up blaming himself for the whole incident.
A year and a half later, we find that Banning has been reassigned to a lesser post at the Treasury Department. We get to see a little slice of his ho-hum existence with his live-in girlfriend Leah (Radha Mitchell) and his desire to redeem himself for his perceived ineptitude in the aforementioned tragedy.
President Asher soon meets with South Korean Prime Minister Lee Tae-Woo (Keong Sim) and his delegation at the White House. Simultaneously, a mysterious AC-130 gunship begins to trespass into airspace over Washington D.C.
As the gunship’s cannons start to blast away at innocent civilians walking around on the streets below to create a diversion, North Korean terrorists posing as tourists kick off a surprise ground offensive right outside of the White House gates. The North Korean terrorist group, ironically named “Koreans for United Freedom,” are led by a ruthless and highly calculating fellow named Kang (brilliantly played by Rick Yune).
As the security detail protecting the White House becomes overwhelmed, it’s up to one man to try and save the day. Drum roll—you guessed it: Mike Banning.
The storyline may not be the most original, but the film’s production values are through the roof. Fuqua’s expert direction, coupled with the film’s outstanding cinematography and highly immersive sound design will surely get the blood pumping for those who love tense situations and lots of balls-to-the-wall action. Once things get revved up, they never let up until the end of the final act.
Another thing I appreciated about this film is that Fuqua and his team of filmmakers actually did a lot of research with experts on how a terrorist group could realistically take over the White House. And it shows. Instead of going way outside of the realm of possibilities, many of the infiltration scenes appear more grounded.
This film also has some contemporary geopolitical implications. Although North Korea does indeed have the capability to pull off such an epic assault, it’s a lot easier to imagine switching out Chinese forces for North Korean ones, especially with the amount of influence and physical presence that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has in America. After all, many military experts agree that, although being such an open, free country has its benefits, it also has drawbacks; the United States has relatively lax security standards, particularly when it comes to cyber security.
While this film sports some incredible action sequences and peppy pacing, it also has another crucial thing going for it: an outstanding cast including not only Butler, Yune, and Eckhart, but also the likes of Angela Bassett, Morgan Freeman, and Dylan McDermott. Heck, they even throw Cole Hauser into the mix for good measure.
Although it does contain some graphic violence (not on par with the grisly John Wick flicks, however), “Olympus Has Fallen” is a phenomenal actioner with very timely implications and a frightening “what if” premise.
It’s also highly patriotic for those of us who love our country.
