Trapped in an iconic building that’s filled with terrorists, guns, and fit to burst with bullets and explosions the latest Die Hard movie proves that Bruce Willis has still… Hang on, that’s not Bruce Willis, it’s Gerard Butler (Law Abiding Citizen) in Olympus Has Fallen; the latest throwback action flick to prove that watching things blow up is fun.
Sure it copies the Die Hard format to the letter (but who doesn’t want to see Die Hard in The White House?), it’s filled with one-note bad guys, just about every action stereotype, cliche, and caricature in the book, and is peppered with so much pro-Americana flag-waving drivel that is may as well be two hours of watching Uncle Sam high-five himself, but Olympus Has Fallen is a real late 80s/early 90s action movie in every sense (it’s only missing Arnie, Sly, or Willis as the star), and so its excesses are what makes it enjoyable.
Butler (who’s already proven himself as an action hero on numerous occasions, and is back doing what he does best here) stars as ex-Secret Service agent Mike Banning and gets the chance to redeem himself from previous failings when a Korean delegation attack, storm, and take control of The White House; seizing the President (among other hostages) in the Presidential bunker, and begin to make demands; leading Mike to storm The White House himself, become the sole surviving Yank, and start kicking some Korean ass!
Action wise Olympus Has Fallen doesn’t disappoint; from the plane barreling down on Washington to the gaggle of goons storming The White House lawn, the crowd of commandos roaming The White House halls, and buff-Banning himself smashing them all to bits, piece by piece, when no other man can get the job done, Olympus Has Fallen is an old-school action movie just as it should be, and with a great cast to boot.
Even including Banning, all of the characters are barely fleshed out stereotypes we’ve seen a hundred times before, though thankfully the rather impressive cast helps them seem that much more believable, and draws us into the rampant kill-fest that is Olympus Has Fallen. Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) is acceptable, and believable, as a strong and sturdy US President, Radha Mitchell (Silent Hill: Revelation) is the typical woman-missing-her-man-and-worrying-from-the-sidelines, while Melissa Leo is both strong, vulnerable, and nigh-unrecognizable from her role in The Fighter as a high-ranking hostage, and Morgan Freeman (The Dark Knight Rises) appears in another classic Morgan role; playing the acting President during the crisis.
Dylan McDermott (The Campaign) and Rick Yune (The Man with the Iron Fists) round out the cast as the two main bad guys; a good-guy-gone-bad, and a Korean (because being Korean is enough… isn’t it?); but, in the end, no-one cares, no-one’s going to remember who the bad guy was or what he was after; as long as he’s an evil little twat, who’s hellbent on destroying our entire way of life, we’ve plenty of reason to hate him, and here Yune’s Kang more than fits the bill.
That’s basically the entire mantra for Olympus Has Fallen, it’s a film rife with problems; a poor, hole-filled, and by now pretty tired, plot, predictable and sometimes laughable dialogue, entirely one-dimensional characters, and nothing remotely original; but it’s still somehow excellent; you want Banning to win, you want to see the Korean commandos’ heads roll, and yes, you want America to pick itself up, dust itself off, and give Korea the almighty finger. Olympus Has Fallen is everything an action film should be; it’s a rabble-rousing, fantastical, flag-waving, fist-pumping ride of testosterone-fuelled fun, peppered with guns, bullets, explosions, a great cast, and an easy to get behind concept; it’s simple, it’s excessive, it’s brilliant.
Video:
For all its bravado, the picture quality on the Olympus Has Fallen Blu-ray release isn’t exactly perfect; there are several noticeable instances of crush, the odd spot of banding, and one overly noisy nighttime shot; though having said that, textures are strong, colours are realistic (not exactly jumping off the screen but maintaining stability throughout), and the level of detail is perfectly acceptable for a high definition release; still a longs ways ahead of the DVD version, but not exactly holding its own against other recent Blu-ray releases from Sony.
Audio:
Yet on the other end of the scale, the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack that accompanies the film will blast Olympus into your living room with all the force and vigor one should, would, and could ever hope to expect from a modern action release; clarity is excellent, and the soundfield is constantly filled with perfectly placed precision effects, smooth pans, consistently clear dialogue, and all the low-end rumbling an action movie of this caliber deserves; it’s big, it’s brash, it’s loud, and it’s just how you want Olympus to sound.
Extras:
Lets face it, action fans aren’t renowned for listening to commentary tracks, and so the omission of any commentary on the Olympus Has Fallen Blu-ray release isn’t a problem; especially when considering the Blu-ray does come with a range of special features that include a blooper reel, a watchable making of that examines everything from fleshing out the plot to its plausibility, interviewing the cast, and looking at the movie’s special effects, and a number of others bonus materials which include features exploring everything from the work of the cast, to crafting realistic fight sequences, building the visual effects, and looking at one of the film’s largest action sequences; meaning that overall, even without a commentary track, the Olympus Has Fallen Blu-ray has a more than acceptable selection of special features.
The Bottom Line:
While the video quality may not stand up against Sony’s best releases, the audio is fantastic, the extras are a worthy selection of watchable featurettes, and as for the film itself, Olympus Has Fallen is one Blu-ray every action fan will want; 2D characters, a 2D, plot, and being a basically unoriginal all-rounder does nothing to hold this film back; it’s a throwback to the action films of yester-yore, a glorious, no-holes-barred action movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously, has a great cast, and is every inch the film Die Hard 5 wishes it was; simple, excessive, brilliant.
