Thanks for the memories!

Good movie but grossly overrated

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Don't bother it's awful. Bad script, bad special FX... just all round naff; not even good naff. It's not even that palletable that you can just switch your mind to neutral and roll with the far fetched action and unbelievable story. Garbage.

I enjoyed watching Gerard Butler in movies like "The Bounty Hunter," "The Ugly Truth," "Law-Abiding Citizen," and even "Dracula 2000." When it comes to this, what can you possibly say? He can do action and he can do comedy, but this is neither. All it is is another dreaded attempt to try to get him to measure up to Bruce Willis...and it is a failure. Mr. Butler can certainly stand alone when it comes to action movies, that is for sure.Butler plays Secret Service agent Mike Banning, who is best friends with the President (Aaron Eckhart), the First Lady (Ashley Judd), and their son. To begin, he gets into a car accident after running into a deer, which ultimately claims the life of the First Lady. Fast forward a year and a half later and he still feels guilty about what happened, having taken a desk job after being removed from the Secret Service proper.He sulks about his so-called daily life with his wife/girlfriend Leah (Radha Mitchell). One day, things go sour when Washington D.C. is under attack by a band of North Koreans, killing everyone and destroying everything in sight before taking hold of the White House and doing the exact same thing. Fighting through his shame, Mike is called into action to kill the villains and save the President and anyone else of his staff who still happens to be alive. In a cliché with a capital C, he does just that, reunites with Leah and is redeemed by the President.In the end, I cannot begin to describe the many things that are wrong with this so-called movie. Antoine Fuqua, the very man who brought us the questionable "Training Day," puts Quentin Tarantino and John Woo to shame when it comes to hardcore action, explosions, and gratuitous violence. It certainly shows here, I'll tell you that. Granted I have no problems with any of those things, I was deeply disturbed by what I saw here. It seemed like there had to be blood and explosions everywhere you turned in this dreadful movie.I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. If you're going to watch a Gerard Butler movie, watch something like "The Ugly Truth" or "Law-Abiding Citizen." Those movies are more his speed than this. Trust me. Once was enough for me, thank you very much.

I've just watched this movie (in 2016) and it reminded me of White House Down, so I was hoping it would somehow be considerably different. They're not. I mean, the details have changed but the essence of the plot remains the same. If they hadn't been released in the same year, I'd have thought it was a remake. Anyway, if you enjoyed WHD, chances are you'll like this one too. If not, better pick something else to watch.You should know straight away from the implausible plot that this isn't the kind of movie where you'd watch something realistic. There are many plot holes, and if you're the kind of person that sits there thinking "wait, why didn't he do this, how come that happened, that doesn't make sense..." and that takes away your enjoyment of the film, then stay away from this one.If you know that it's only meant as a piece of entertainment with the typical bad guy vs good guy, then this is fun and far from boring. It's not excellent either. It's mostly guns and the fight scenes weren't as well crafted as what you might see in say, the Bourne Identity or Transporter. But it all flows very nicely right from the start and it's two hours of solid action entertainment with enough suspense to keep you wondering what will happen next.In short, if you enjoy an action thriller and don't think too much during the movie, this is a good one to watch.

There isn't much novelty to be found here, nor does it come nearly as ambitious as many classic films of the action genre. It doesn't mean it can't be fun however, or at least entertaining for those who get pumped for watching hasty gunfights and explosions go off in the White House (take Roland Emmerich's 'Independence Day' for example). This patriotic action thriller directed by Antoine Fuqua, the master behind the acclaimed 'Training Day' and 'Shooter', sets viewers in a pulse-pounding shoot-em-up "man vs. terrorist" extravaganza, while borrowing familiar elements of the 'Die Hard' franchise; but perhaps without the humor and charisma of Bruce Willis' John McClane. This film stars Gerard Butler as Mike Banning, a former secret service agent for President Benjamin Asher (played by Aaron Eckhart) who reassigned from position after a tragic event left him emotionally scarred. Now he works for at a desk for the United States Department of Treasury. What starts off as a normal day turns horribly wrong when a fleet of North Korean fighter pilots lead by terrorist Kang Yeonsak (played by Rick Yune) launch an assault on the White House. With President Asher and many other government officials taken hostage, it is up to Banning with the help of House Speaker Allan Trumbull (played by Morgan Freeman) and Director of Secret Service Lynne Jacobs (played by Angela Bassett) through communication via earpiece to save them.An attack on the White House and the destruction of the national monument certainly feels a climatic sequence from a Roland Emmerich movie. But no need to worry, there is an entertaining, if unoriginal plot to be handed here; and not without an amazing plethora of special effects to feed the eyes of action flick junkies. The opening minutes of the North Korean guerilla attack on the White House are incredibly violent and do very little to hold back when sprouting plenty of blood splattering enough to hence an R-rating, and the bloodshed doesn't stop there. The action continues on the lead character's hunt for the ruthless Korean terrorist who has the President and many others taken hostage at gunpoint, as he (Gerard Butler) roams the dark halls through the White House taken out each gunman one by one; and the scenes achieve the blessings of solid cinematography by Conrad W. Hall rather than incoherent shaky cam that far too many action films are infamous for. Though the pacing eventually slows down a bit during the final half-hour, the action and occasional suspense do just enough to keep the film on its feet. Gerard Butler, an actor with a rather rough filmography of the past several years, breaths plenty of life and humanity as lead character Mike Banning. Though he may not obtain the same charismatic persona as John McClane, he nonetheless fits the bill. Rick Yune doesn't quite make a memorable villain either, but to say the least he does his best.Olympus Has Fallen is a pulse-pounding action thriller that though lack novelty, stands strong as an entertaining action popcorn flick with solid special effects and an surprisingly rewarding role by Gerard Butler. This movie is not something I would count on going down as a classic in the genre, but one to enjoy without feeling the need of a rich original action flick.