STARRING: Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, Dylan McDermott, Rick Yune, Finley Jacobsen, Melissa Leo, Robert Forester, Cole Hauser, Radha Mitchell, Ashley Judd.
WRITTEN BY: Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt
DIRECTED BY: Antoine Fuqua
I’m part of the fortunate few who missed Olympus Has Fallen in theatres, and saw White House Down first. I say fortunate few, not because either movie is terrible, but because I saw White House Down before Olympus Has Fallen, I can truly appreciate Olympus. A tighter movie with a slightly better plot. Also, better acting.
Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) is the top secret service agent for the President. Something happened in the past, which I won’t spoil, but it led to him no longer being on the President’s detail. The President (Aaron Eckhart) is meeting with the South Korean Ambassador, and some shit goes awry, and a Korean terrorist group ends up waging war on the White House and taking the President hostage. It is up to Mike to break in and save the day.
A movie rather full of plot twists, I usually have a second paragraph full of plot developments, but if I start telling you who these characters play, it will ruin the movie for you. This is a much smarter movie, except for the fact that all “name” actors clearly stand out even in smaller roles. The one exception to this would be Melissa Leo, who was almost unrecognizable to me until the very end. Then I was like… is that… Melissa Leo? Cole Hauser’s character also really doesn’t offer much to the story, and honestly Radha Mitchell and Angela Bassett are wasted too.
Gerard Butler, however, is a terrific lead. He’s much more angry and serious than Channing Tatum was in White House Down. He’s got the grizzled action star thing going for him. Eckhart is OK as the President, but I’d give the edge to Foxx in White House Down, as Foxx was given more to do. Eckhart just stares a lot. As far as the supporting cast, they all do sufficient work. This is not a film to showcase acting. It is simply a film for you to spend two hours enjoying.
It’s not mindblowingly original, or groundbreaking, but I found it to be entertaining (when it isn’t painfully obvious). Solid acting and competent direction, paired with a decent script make for a good film. That’s the lesson we’ve learned here.
FINAL GRADE: B
