Review of Olympus Has Fallen (2013) by Stevenf — 02 May 2013

Olympus has fallen is the first of the big White House action to pieces to be released this year, followed by White House Down later on. While there is plenty to see and enough action to please the masses, the film isn't without its problems.

Gerard Butler takes the lead as Mike Branning, a secret service agent of the President Asher's (Aaron Eckhart) personal detail who after a tragic accident is working in the treasury office job 18 months later, missing his old job. Business continues as normal throughout the White House, but an air assault from a rogue aircraft begins to shoot up most of Washington, on its way to the White House.

Branning makes his way towards the White House, now a graveyard of unfortunate victims, and of course now under siege.

When he eventually makes contact with the outside world, he is tasked with rescuing the Presidents son who hasn't been seen since the events unfolded, and he then must try his best to save the President, who has problems of his own inside the Presidents bunker.

Olympus does have all the brass to be one of the most enjoyable popcorn films of the year..and it should be, save for a view errors that cannot be brushed aside.

Gerard Butler, through no fault of his own, is quite wooden throughout the film..he didn't really have a whole lot to say and his funny moments were just simply a few swear words to many, his acting is great and he looks tough, but his dialogue and character development suffered in the process. This was an ongoing problem throughout the film, there was a lot of characters to know about but enough to remember them. Morgan Freeman, again didn't have a lot to do but call the shots for a while, but Melissa Leo had the the most memorable lines as Secretary of Defence Ruth McMillan, delivering an exciting and fiery performance.

Dylan McDermott continues to shine in his limited roles onscreen, he was excellent in The Campaign and succeeds in creating a powerful character in this film as Secret Service agent Dave Forbes.