Movie Review: "Olympus Has Fallen"

The basic premise of Olympus Has Fallen sounds as if it's just Die Hard in the White House, but the film is actually a serious action/thriller, where Gerard Butler is not the wisecracking cowboy, but rather the last tough guy standing to stop terrorists from killing the President.  Butler portrays a disgraced secret service agent, who finds himself being the only person left to stop a terrorist takeover of the White House.  It's a simple premise, and it's one that the filmmakers adequately find the tension of the hypothetical scenario and make it feel real.  The film never traipses into farce, like so many action movies are want to do.  Nothing ever occurs in this film that seemed completely impossible to me, and that's why this film works.  Could it have used a few jokes here and there?  Sure.  Would I have preferred a few more memorable fight scenes?  Yeah, but at the end of the day, if you're looking for an action/thriller that is smartly made, surprisingly emotional, and extremely tense, you don't have to look any further than Olympus Has Fallen.

I give Olympus Has Fallen an A-!