Review of Olympus Has Fallen (2013) by Mason B — 19 Aug 2014

Olympus Has Fallen, like it's clone White House Down, is a movie about the white house coming under attack by militants, and a lone secret service agent must save the day and the president. Watching this movie, I feel like I've seen it before.

That's probably because it's a mash-up of die hard, independence day, and numerous other action cliches. As of writing this review I have not seen Die Hard, but I am familiar enough with its concept to know how derivative this film is.

Still, this movie could have been awesome popcorn summer entertainment, and for some stretches, it is. There were times where I found myself really enjoying this film, even though I knew how absolutely preposterous it is.

Unfortunately it overstays it's welcome by a lot. Olympus Has Fallen problems are several, but it's biggest problem is that it's too long. It's not nearly intelligent enough to sustain its two hour running time, so the action becomes repetitive and slightly boring.

I also had a real problem with how this film had several really talented actors, such as Aaron Eckhart, Melissa Leo, and Angela Basset, and gave them nothing substantial to do. The actors don't play characters with personality in this film, they play cliched roles whose only purpose is for the convenience of the plot.

It's another one of the reasons that the movie can't sustain it's running time. There is certainly an audience who will really enjoy this movie, but I think at best it's barely adequate blockbuster fun.