Olympus Has Fallen

Saturday I went to see "Olympus Has Fallen." If I were to sum it up in a short sentence it would be "Die Hard takes place in the White House." It was a good action movie. Gerard Butler looked great as a Secret Service agent, square-jawed and clean shaven wearing those aviator sunglasses.

For those of you who haven't seen it yet, the basic premise is this, terrorists take over the White House and Gerard Butler saves the day. Like I said, Die Hard at the White House with Gerard Butler replacing Bruce Willis.

The writer did a great job of nearly immediately endearing the audience to the President (Aaron Eckhart--the guy with the huge dimple in his chin--also known as Harvey Dent), his wife (Ashley Judd) and their young son Connor (Finley Jacobsen).

Now, perhaps it's just the recent news about North Korea, but I have to say that it completely freaked me out to watch how the swiftly and completely the Korean terrorists took out the White House.  (And I say Korean because this terrorist was born in North Korea and grew up in the South.) Lots of of blood, lots of booms, and lots of shooting.  Don't get too attached to any one character in this film, because like an episode of Downton Abbey or The Walking Dead, they'll be dead in a minute.

Like I said, I liked the movie.  I liked the premise.  I liked the performances. Morgan Freeman played the Speaker of the House, for goodness sake. (Who we never see take the oath of office to be the president....they did that on the West Wing when John Goodman became President) Gerard Butler was totally believable and likeable as the super-tough guy Secret Service agent in search of redemption. This is the thing I didn't like. It is my understanding that the Secret Services' job is to protect the President, at all cost. I get that, so while I hated watching them get mowed down, I understand it. It is my understanding that the President's job, and the job of the people who work for him to protect the country, no matter the cost. Now, I realize that the movie has to move forward, but I have to say I got really irritated when the President ordered his subordinates to do things that placed the nation in jeopardy so that he could be the big hero.  "They'll never get it from me." Also, the Speaker of the House caving to terrorists to save the life of the President, didn't sit well with me.

If you're looking for a fun and action packed movie experience, go see this. If you're a student of how our government works and how the succession of power and the protection of the government works, you might want to leave that all at the door.