Back in the 90s (a magical decade of presidential sex scandals, cheesy boy bands and the unexpected resurgence of the 70s) there was a little movie called Air Force One. It was Die Hard on an airplane starring the President of the United States and he was a total badass; but those were back in the days when our President could get away with banging interns under his desk. Fast forward to the present day and the President can't even get away with sneaking a smoke on the White House's back patio; things have changed a lot. Now the president is filling the role of damsel in distress in the new film Olympus Has Fallen.
Pictured: everybody else falling....
No longer is the President a badass ex military pilot, but a stressed out widower who kinda regrets even becoming president in the first place. Filling the role of his white knight is disgraced secret service agent Mike Banning, a man who sucks at most aspects of life that don't involve killing terrorists and assembling firearms blindfolded. As luck would have it, North Korean terrorists have invaded the White House and are holding the President and his staff hostage; cue badass guitar riff as Banning weaponizes the nearest stapler and lunges into battle.
While making a face like this.
Olympus Has Fallen is the epitome of Die Hard clone with a bit of Under Siege sprinkled on top for added flavor. There was a time when this kind of thing would be frowned upon (like when EVERYONE was making Die Hard clones) but in the current action movie environment when an actual Die Hard sequel can't even live up to the average Die Hard clone, it's downright refreshing. The premise is absolutely ridiculous, but the movie plays it so straight you can't help but be engaged by the amazing action it produces. One thing that may have you rolling your eyes a bit is the over the top patriotism. Now i'm no American apologist (far from it) but this movie has a serious hard on for the American flag; Olympus Has Fallen never wastes an opportunity to flash you it's red, white, and blue like it's drunkenly hitting on you at the bar..... but that's also half the fun (and a potential drinking game).
Seriously, it's like Girls Gone Wild with the American flag!
Simply put, this movie is ridiculous yet gleefully oblivious to it (making it even more ridiculous). It's not brain food, and if you find yourself disgusted by your home nation this movie will do nothing but mock you for two hours; but Olympus Has Fallen is a surprisingly entertaining action flick with a great cast and a sense of fun that's lacking from a lot of today's movies (at times, you'd swear this was written 15 years ago). If you love action movies, cool explosions, and 'MERICA then this is your kind of movie!
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