OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (" ACTION WEEKEND")

April 5, 2013

Cast: Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman, Aaron Eckhart.

Director: Antoine Fuqua.

After a series of flops Gerard Butler has teamed up with the Training Day Director Antoine Fuqua for Olympus has fallen.

Mike Banning(Gerard Butler) gets discharged from the position of the Security Chief for the President (Aaron Eckhart) after he fails to save the President’s wife from an accident. After 18 months the White House is taken down by the North Koreans and it’s upto Mike to save the day while Speaker Trumbull (Morgan Freeman) is the acting President.

Whether it is a conscious decision or not, Olympus has fallen gives more importance to action than the plot. The taking of the White House (especially by the aerial route) might look too easy to be true but the whole sequence has been shot perfectly with skilfully choreographed action scenes.

The authorities who are calling the shots along with the acting President  are portrayed as a bunch of naive persons easily falling into the traps set by the North Koreans. You would especially notice this when the US Airforce helicopters are shot down by the North Koreans using “Hydra”, about which no mention was made during the taking down of the White House. But if you are an action junkie I do not really think you are going to really mind that.

Gerard Butler looks fully in his element giving a confident and believable performance as Mike Banning. Aaron Eckhart in his limited role as President does a good job. Morgan Freeman does not really have any role.

The firing, bombs, air combat and fist fights are sure to delight those who go in looking for action, and these are perfectly placed at regular intervals in the crisp screenplay of 2 hrs making it the perfect action flick for the weekend.

Iam giving a 3/5 for Olympus has fallen. Get ready for some really good action.

IMDB Rating

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2 to 2.25                      -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

3 to 3.25                      -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4 to 4.25                      -           Great.

4.5 and above               -           Extraordinary.