National security actioner from the director of Training Day, starring Gerard Butler as Mike Banning – a disgraced Presidential guard who finds himself in the White House when terrorists capture the building. Also stars Aaron Eckhart, Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman… Read more.
There’s an obvious drinking game in Olympus Has Fallen: take a swig every time a hoary action dialogue cliché is uttered by one of the characters – “I’m the best chance you’ve got!”; He’s in the walls!”; “Those tunnels were sealed years ago!” and so on. You’ll be soused by act II.
An even more dangerous version would be to drink every time someone gets stabbed by a knife through the top of the skull. Because that happens A LOT.
Indeed, this film makes full use of its US R-rated status to bring the blood in a major way. And by having Morgan Freeman say “F*cking shit!”. It’s like seeing the principal swear.
Olympus Has Fallen has more bloody on-screen deaths than any action film in recent memory. Most of them are by ridiculously high-powered guns, but the knife-skull thing is close behind. It challenges the 2008 Rambo for overall bullet-riddling.
If any of this sounds like I’m complaining, I’m not. I really quite enjoyed Olympus Has Fallen, which was rushed into theatres to beat this year’s other Die-Hard-in-the-White-House-with-descension-in-the-title movie, White House Down.
While the latter film is helmed by known White House-smasher Roland Emmerich (Independence Day; 2012), Olympus‘ director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day; King Arthur) doesn’t skimp on the action at all. This could easily have been 90% running down halls, but a large scope is maintained throughout.
It may be derivative as all heck, but there is plenty of old-school action fun to be had here. Just be prepared for the surfeit of eye roll-inducing cheesiness that goes along with it.
And all the skull-stabbing. So much skull-stabbing.
