I've always loved a good action movie. I grew up watching movies like "Die Hard", "True Lies", and "Speed" with my Dad. I could quote "Die Hard" long before I could actually say most of the vulgar dialogue out loud. My relationship with action movies seems very similar to those of my friends. They saw action movies as a bonding experience with their fathers. This bonding seemed to not be gender specific. Many of my female friends have vivid memories of watching Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger blowing away terrorists and how the viewing experience bonded them better with their fathers. Maybe this is simply me pushing away from the somewhat stereotypical "I like seeing stuff/people get blown up real good". It is with that preface that I recommend a movie like "Olympus Has Fallen", an admittedly silly action movie that is not without its cliches and eye-rolls but still taps into that almost lizard-brained affinity for guns and explosions.
Gerard Butler plays Mike Banning, a former Secret Service agent who through a series of somewhat believable coincidences ends up near the White House after it has been attacked by terrorist. President Asher (Aaron Eckhart) is being held hostage by Korean bad guys who have stormed the most protected house in the world and are now demanding the U.S. drop military support between the borders of North and South Korea. Banning must use his not-very-well-established combat experience to dodge terrorists, explosions, and charred flags falling in slow-motion to save Asher, his son (Finley Jacobsen), and the members of the cabinet who are stuck in the White House.
The action genre has not been off to a great start in 2013. Between the somewhat mediocre "The Last Stand" and the tear-inducing disappointment of "A Good Day to Die Hard", it is easy to like "Olympus Has Fallen" for all the wrong reasons. It fills a void that hasn't been filled since last year's "The Raid: Redemption" and "Dredd" allowing an audience to fist-pump and go "Oh man!" to bad guys getting wrecked in bloody fashion. Audiences will cheer Butler as he again proves that he is an action star who should resist the urge to make a career of smirking in romantic comedies. Banning is a mostly believable character doing most believable actions in a somewhat believable scenario. For that, "Olympus Has Fallen" is a mini-triumph. It takes a potentially disastrous action movie plot and constantly surprises. It is far from high cinema or even a great action movie but we don't expect that.
While "Olympus" does do some action film staples well (villain wreckage and explosions), part of my recommendation is in the ways it does not follow action stereotypes. Jacobsen's son character is never annoying and is not used as a large plot point in any manipulative way. The members of Asher's cabinet both inside and outside the White House act mostly valiantly. The film has only one predictable plot twist that won't be spoiled here but most action fans will be able to predict up to the moment it hits their rolling eyes.
Saying "Olympus Has Fallen" is the best action movie since "Dredd" is not a huge recommendation but it fulfills the hope of action fans. While it is far from the movie it could have been had it been tightened (cut 5 minutes of slow-motion patriotism) and polished (cheap CGI has no place in action movies), it is worth a viewing.
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