After
Bruce Willis and 20th Century Fox irrevocably tarnished the legacy
of the Die Hard franchise, chances were
that audiences would be receptive to a new property reviving the “Die Hard” action-thriller
formula. Enter FilmDistrict and Olympus Has Fallen, an explosive new
adventure featuring crowd-pleasers like Gerard Butler and Morgan Freeman, one
that immediately drew positive associations with the insanely successful Air Force One. To be fair, despite the solid reputation of
the cast, early trailers for this newest spring release seemed to indicate that
a relatively high level of suspension-of-disbelief would be required for full
immersion into the narrative. Luckily, in
the hands of director Antoine Fuqua, who was responsible for personal favorites
like Training Day and Shooter, there was considerable
potential regardless of premise feasibility.
An R-rated adventure that flew in largely under the radar certainly wasn’t
going to take down The Croods in its
opening weekend, but Olympus Has Fallen
was still poised to make a significant mark on the box office.
Adrenaline-filled
and undeniably entertaining, Olympus Has
Fallen serves as a nonstop thrill-ride once the bullets start flying, but some
required stretches of the imagination are laughably unbelievable…add-in a few
tired clichés and some questionable uses of the cast, and overall quality suffers. As the badass action hero, Gerard Butler fires
on all cylinders: showcasing heart with those he has sworn to protect, spouting
sarcastic quips while brutally executing enemies, questioning authority…you
will love this guy! Morgan Freeman, as
always, delivers, but Dylan McDermott presence was questionable, and I can’t
imagine who thought it was a good idea to put the Academy Award-winning Melissa
Leo in a minor supporting role. And even
though an attack on the White House is feasible, the ease with which everything
falls apart is far too convenient, and any “twists” of the narrative are so
familiar that there are few surprises.
In the end, by no means is Olympus
Has Fallen a bad film, because as far as mindless and violent entertainment
goes, mass audiences looking for a popcorn-flick will still be thrilled.
Overall
Recommendation: Medium
