Olympus Has Fallen (2013)

Secret Service agent Mike Banning finds himself trapped inside the White House in the wake of a terrorist attack and works with national security to rescue the President from his kidnappers.

Director:

Antoine Fuqua

Writers:

Creighton Rothenberger, Katrin Benedikt

Stars:

Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman

1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gerard Butler	...	Mike Banning
Aaron Eckhart	...	President Benjamin Asher
Finley Jacobsen	...	Connor
Dylan McDermott	...	Forbes
Rick Yune	...	Kang
Morgan Freeman	...	Speaker Trumbull
Angela Bassett	...	Secret Service Director Lynn Jacobs
Melissa Leo	...	Secretary of Defense Ruth McMillan
Radha Mitchell	...	Leah
Cole Hauser	...	Roma
Phil Austin	...	Vice President Charlie Rodriguez
James Ingersoll	...	Admiral Nathan Hoenig
Freddy Bosche	...	Diaz
Lance Broadway	...	O'Neil
Sean O'Bryan	...	Ray Monroe

Storyline

When the White House (Secret Service Code: "Olympus") is captured by a terrorist mastermind and the President is kidnapped, former Presidential Secret Service Agent Mike Banning finds himself trapped within the building. As our national security team scrambles to respond, they are forced to rely on Banning's inside knowledge to help retake the White House, save the President and avert an even bigger disaster.

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Plot Keywords:

u.s. president | white house | president | speaker of the house | politics | 

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Taglines:

We are never stronger than when we are tested.

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and language throughout

Did You Know?

Trivia

The book Conner-the presidents son- is reading at the beginning when they are talking about going down to the kitchen for ice cream, is Alex Rider by Atony Horowitz

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Goofs

The Washington Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) extends 30 nautical miles into the Atlantic. NORAD would have intercepted the gunship well before it hit land.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Mike Banning: You're going to seriously try to rope-a-dope me? That's an old man's move.
President Benjamin Asher: I am an old man.
Mike Banning: No, you're not. But you box like one.

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Alternate Versions

The edited for TNT/TBS cable TV version aside from the usual language and violence edits most notably hackneys its edit for the part where Mike (Gerard Butler) stabs Kang (Rick Yune) in the head. Instead, the viewer witnesses Mike about to stab and then it cuts straight to Kang's body ceasing to move making it unclear that Kang was stabbed let alone where.

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Connections

Referenced in Half in the Bag: The Lone Ranger and White House Down (2013)

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Soundtracks

Christmas With The Man I Love
Written by Andrew Kingslow (as Andrew Peter Kingslow) (PRS) and Sarah Dowling (NS)
Published by KPM APM (ASCAP)
Courtesy of APM Music

User Reviews

What "Die Hard 5" should have been.

I find it ironic that Gerard Butler, a Scotsman, as disgraced Secret Agent Mike Banning, embodies the spirit of John McClane much more than Bruce Willis did in that last dreadful outing. If anything, Butler has done nothing more than to cement his reputation as a bankable and likable action hero for the new generation in this old-school action movie. He has a commanding presence on-screen, quips wisecracks, bleeds when it's crucial, and dispatches the bad guys in a methodical cross between Jason Bourne and John Rambo. Not even the fine supporting cast (Morgan Freeman, Aaron Eckhart, Angela Bassett, Robert Forster, Melissa Leo, Dylan McDermott) can take away Butler's limelight.

Indeed, Antoine Fuqua's "Olympus Has Fallen" is not only terrific entertainment but a terrific throwback to the pivotal 90's action movie, the Die Hard clone - and this film ("Die Hard" in the White House) is another reminder of why the trusted formula works, even if it has been dormant for nearly two decades (the last good big one being Peter Hyams' "Sudden Death").

From the moment the film's main action start, the film doesn't stop running. The bad guys, hoo boy do they mean business. Rarely, if at all, have I seen this much brutal collateral damage in an American action film. Americans citizens get mowed down by bullets from ground and air forces. The all-American (Scottish) hero represents freedom and justice, and the bad guys represent every American's worst nightmare. I haven't seen this much political incorrectness since "The Delta Force". Having said that, Rick Yune surprisingly makes for an effective and nasty villain, who is relentlessly cold, smug and procedural in his mission, following the formula perfectly. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

It's fast, it's loud, it's preposterous, and yet I enjoyed every minute of it. The film is chock-full of sensational and well-shot action sequences/special effects, but its biggest strength is its cohesion. From start to finish the plot moves smoothly, and you can tell who the good guys and the bad guys are. The characters are established, their motives clear, and that's that. The action sequences do not simply skip to each other, they flow perfectly like a stream, thanks to crisp editing. Simplicity is key here, and convoluted plots do not fit in the formula (hear that, "Die Hard 5"?)

Fuqua is no stranger to action, having helmed the solid "Shooter" six years ago. Here he ratchets up the action up to a 10 (CGI is present but used reasonably), and he remarkably doesn't hold back on the tension. It's no "Training Day", but it more or less hearkens back to an Antoine Fuqua who made "The Replacement Killers". Just thrilling fun.

Of course the plot isn't original. It's a genre picture, and what I pay to see in a genre picture is its skillful craft and cohesive plot. This film has both, and resurrects the Die Hard clone from the grave. Here I thought I was getting bored of action movies. The genre is dying, you say? Here's a solid kicker.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Korean

Release Date:

22 March 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

White House Taken

Filming Locations:

Bossier City, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$70,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$30,373,794, 24 March 2013

Gross USA:

$98,925,640

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$170,270,201

Company Credits

Production Co:

Millennium Films, Millennium Films, G-BASE

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1