After the First Lady dies in a freak car accident, the President’s favorite bodyguard (Butler) is relegated to desk duty. But when a squad of North Korean militants attacks the White House, the born warrior can’t stand aside and ends up being the only force capable of saving America.
While laughing every time another Ethan Hunt blows up the Kremlin, it’s easy to overlook that Hollywood occasionally allows itself the same recklessness with its own material. Although “Olympus Has Fallen” resembles a wild mix of “Salt” and the latest “Die Hard,” this unexpected shift in direction for a non-American audience is quite appealing. The question isn’t how much you’re willing to believe that a gang of Koreans, with the help of an old bomber and a couple of garbage trucks, can handle the main American bastion in thirteen minutes, but how much you want to see it.
If the concentration of patriotism on the screen could be measured in conventional units, “Olympus Has Fallen” could seriously compete with “Saving Private Ryan.” The main character here isn’t even Gerard Butler, but the American flag. The film begins and ends with it. The Stars and Stripes proudly waves in the wind, hangs sadly, riddled with bullets, and meaningfully falls down, dropped from the flagpole by villains.
Action-Packed Plot
Since the plot fits entirely on the poster, the authors had no need for halftones from the start. Director Antoine Fuqua, known for “Training Day” and “King Arthur,” adopts a fateful tone right from the credits. It seems the off-screen drum roll sounds even when the head of the United States goes to the restroom, and his dismissed bodyguard gropes for kefir in the refrigerator. While you’re trying to figure out what they’re showing you – a comedy or an action movie – Butler is already smashing skulls with a Lincoln bust, reducing any questions to rhetorical ones. Lead is pouring like hail, and absurd humor (many would probably insert the word “idiocy” here) too: generals arrive at the meeting faster than special forces at the scene, the Washington Monument is cheerfully shortened by half, and North Koreans make their way into the holy of holies under the guise of… South Koreans. As a special touch, Aaron Eckhart once again performs his signature act of “a tied man in an impeccable tie.”
White House Siege: A New Genre?
Keeping in mind that in a couple of months we’ll see exactly the same thing, but with Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx, I want to suggest that White House sieges be put into a separate genre and attract not only pyrotechnics masters but also connoisseurs of the chamber genre.
For some reason, Michael Haneke’s candidacy immediately comes to mind.