Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
When the White House (Secret Service Code: "Olympus") is captured by a terrorist mastermind and the President is kidnapped, disgraced former Presidential guard Mike Banning finds himself trapped within the building. As the 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.
Olympus Has Fallen is a competent but formulaic Die Hard-in-the-White-House action thriller. The plot hits every genre beat predictably with a by-the-numbers lone-hero setup and cartoonish North Korean villains. Gerard Butler carries the film with a committed physical performance and Morgan Freeman lends gravitas, keeping the acting above average. The cinematography is functional but unremarkable, with murky action sequences and pedestrian staging. Novelty is low — the concept is a well-worn genre exercise with little distinctive voice or craft. The ending delivers satisfying if predictable closure expected of the genre.