Distributor: FilmDistrict
Opening Weekend Box Office: #2 with $30,373,794
Domestic Box Office Gross to-date: $81,890,000
Gross Revenue: $87,190,000
Production Budget: $70 million
Director(s):
Antoine Fuqua
In truth, I wasn’t even aware of the existence of Olympus Has Fallen until a few weeks
before it hit theaters; to their credit, FilmDistrict eventually saturated
media with promotions and got mass awareness to acceptable levels, but entertainment
news was focused on a potentially bigger problem with this project’s existence. Hollywood has never been a stranger to
similar projects being released in close succession (Armageddon and Deep Impact
being the most-widely cited examples), but with the current lull in the yearly
box office, one has to question why this action-thriller was worth seeing when
the virtually-identical White House Down
would be hitting theaters by the end of June.
Granted, Olympus Has Fallen
had a definitive first-mover advantage against Channing Tatum’s upcoming Secret
Service adventure, but the studio system wasn’t going to be gaining any
credibility among the public (who already see 3D as largely a waste of money
and question the lack-of-originality inherent in all the recent remakes) for
such a blatant recycling effort. One
saving grace for this newest action-thriller involved the fact that global
events would likely make mass audiences receptive to some in-your-face
patriotism…making the antagonists North Koreans was a blatant and gutsy comment
on the current political atmosphere.
Taking all of these factors into consideration, Olympus Has Fallen certainly had the potential to be something
deeper than just another entry in the “lone-wolf vs. terrorists” genre, but
even if it failed to live up to that potential, audiences were still in store
for some fast-paced and gloriously explosive action…either way, we win.
Olympus
Has Fallen follows U.S. Secret Service agent Mike Banning
(Gerard Butler), a former Army Ranger who was removed as lead of the
Presidential Detail following a fatal accident which claimed the life of First
Lady Margaret Asher (Ashley Judd).
Banning’s considerable skills do not suit his current desk job at the
Treasury Department, but he is thrust back into action when North Korean
guerilla forces infiltrate and ambush the White House, taking President
Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart) and Secretary of Defense Ruth McMillan (Melissa
Leo) hostage alongside other top officials within the impenetrable White House
Bunker. Led by notorious terrorist Kang
Yeonsak (Rick Yune) and ex-US Secret Service agent Dave Forbes (Dylan
McDermott), the hostile forces demand that the U.S. military withdraw from the
Korean Peninsula, meanwhile torturing their hostages for the access codes to
Project Cerberus, a failsafe system that will effectively detonate America’s
entire nuclear arsenal and kill countless innocents. Luckily, though the entirety of the Secret
Service was decimated before back-up forces could arrive, Banning was able to
slip back into the White House and arm himself, essentially becoming a one-man
army against the ruthless intruders.
Using his knowledge of protocol and surveillance, Banning keeps in
contact with the Head of the Secret Service Lynne Jacobs (Angela Bassett) and
Speaker of the House/Acting President Allan Trumbull (Morgan Freeman); now
fully aware of the terrorists’ plans, Banning must use all of his training and
nerve to dispatch his enemies and save the nation during its darkest hour.
When things go “BOOM” in Olympus Has Fallen, they go “BOOM” in a big way, and the end result
is a gloriously entertaining and adrenaline-filled adventure that grabs your
attention just as effectively as the biggest summer blockbusters. In terms of likable heroes, Gerard Butler
ranks with the best of them, balancing a no-holds-barred toughness with a genuine
softness and humor that makes for a remarkably well-rounded character…the
transition from sweet interaction with the President’s son to brutal
interrogation of captured terrorists is a welcome surprise. Aside from the visceral punishments bestowed
on enemies that you instantaneously hate, the film also offers some truly
enjoyable supporting characters: Rick Yune is always an effective villain,
while both Aaron Eckhart and Morgan Freeman deliver as believable political
leaders who recognize the gravity of their situation and will do whatever is
necessary to protect the country. And in
speaking of the good ol’ U.S.A., Olympus
Has Fallen will undeniably play to your patriotism, getting you geared up
for action in the same vein of The
Patriot, Pearl Harbor, or even Independence Day…that kind of energy is
addictive and downright fun at the theater.
Unfortunately, for as much as I enjoyed watching Gerard Butler defending
America, I have to acknowledge that full enjoyment of Olympus Has Fallen requires a majority of the viewing audience to
take a significant leap of faith.
Choosing to frame a big-budget blockbuster around a
full-scale assault of the White House was a gutsy move on the part of the
filmmakers, but it almost seems like so much effort went into making such an
attack believable that little was left for the narrative to do but default to
proven genre clichés. I realize that
suspension-of-disbelief is required for an enjoyable viewing of a majority of
action films, but it is way too difficult to accept a majority of the
circumstances surrounding the assault on the White House. I can buy a traitor helping the terrorists
and the Secret Service being surprised by such an attack, but no friggin’ way would
a hostile aircraft EVER get close enough to actually fire on civilians, and I
call foul on it taking 15 minutes for Armed Forces to respond as back-up to the
Secret Service in such a crisis. It may
sound nitpicky to point out such things, but your attention is drawn to such
elements when the alternative focus involves “twists” that any fan of the
action genre has seen a million times…more time should have been spent
establishing the characters of Melissa Leo and Dylan McDermott, both of whom
are proven talents that could have accomplished so much more given the
chance. Overall, when you take the time
to balances the positives of the film against the negatives, Olympus Has Fallen isn’t horrible, but
it certainly doesn’t qualify as a game-changer for moviegoers.
As expected, Olympus
Has Fallen didn’t have a chance going head-to-head against a
family-friendly juggernaut like The
Croods, but a $30 million second-place debut is nonetheless impressive and
nothing to dismiss. Unfortunately,
unlike its animated competitor, this thriller faced immediate competition in
the form of G.I. Joe: Retaliation, so
overall financial performance was going to be largely front-loaded. And it is no surprise that such a patriotic
property has had a lukewarm presence overseas, but to-date, FilmDistrict has at
least had a modest recovery of its production budget, a metric that will
hopefully improve with home media. If
anything, such a strong opening performance will serve as a benchmark for
analysts to evaluate White House Down,
which will benefit from a June release, but is also the second contestant to
arrive in the cinematic race and subject to audience fatigue. In light of all these factors, a plain truth
remains: Olympus Has Fallen may not
be perfect, but if you are a fan of Gerard Butler or simply looking for some
badass action at the theater, then you will not be disappointed in giving this
film a chance.
Overall
Recommendation: Medium
