Invasão a Casa Branca

Forget airs and graces here: OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN is a straightforward siege-based action flick, heavily indebted to DIE HARD and its ilk, offering maximum thrills and spills and little else besides. It's hardly a thinking man's movie but it does ably do what it sets out to do, which is to offer plenty of action, high stakes and suspense.

The story is, in essence, DIE HARD in the White House and there's no more or less to it than that. Gerard Butler is good value in the action stakes (as we already know from 300, so it's a shame he's been wasting away in dumb rom-coms ever since) and the intricate plot sees a huge squad of terrorists kidnapping the President (an unlikely Aaron Eckhart), leaving Butler the only man on the ground with the power to stop them.

The action consists of a handful of brutal hand-to-hand fights and shoot-outs augmented with some CGI stuff of plane attacks and missiles; the CGI isn't great but it's better than you'd find in a B-movie at least. Morgan Freeman shows up as one of those guys whose business it is is to offer sage advice and look worried in equal measure, while Rick Yune tackles the role of lead North Korean terrorist with relish.

OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN isn't perfect by any means; it's occasionally cheesy, occasionally silly, and mostly far-fetched. It could also do with some more action, what there is is a little limited considering the running time of two hours. But it IS a perfect piece of action entertainment, the kind of switch-off-the-brain fun that I look out for in a movie.

What a dumb, fun, entertaining movie this is. There really is no real story in this movie, other than an attack on the White House. Then it's just straight up "Die Hard" after that, and it's so beautiful to finally get to see a good "Die Hard" movie again. Gerard Butler plays Mike Banning, who is basically just British John McClane. And then we have Aaron Eckhart as Benjamin Asher, the POTUS and Morgan Freeman as Allan Trumbull, the public speaker. They are very good too. This is just a very dumb action movie, and those are the kind of movies that I really love to watch.

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.

We've asked for a real Die Hard movie, for a very long time.

We've asked for a real R rated action movie, for a while.

We've asked for a decent and crazy actioner for a long time.

There you have it. Olympus Has Fallen is the movie that has everything you were waiting to see. Thankfully, Bruce Willis is on vacation ( just like he claimed several times, in Die Hard 5). So, he is nowhere to be seen, thankfully. We have a good amount of violence, shootouts and action.

It's important and really honest if you like the movie for what it is, a fun, crazy and silly action movie with some good lines and some good acting. So, like it for what it is, but don't hate it for what it isn't. It's not meant to be a serious, edgy and visceral movie. It's Die Hard in White House, plain and simple.

You'll find the same old plot holes that similar movies had, but don't be scared. The flaws won't take away the fun you'll have with the flick.

The movie is not for kids or babies. It's very violent and they don't hold any punch regarding the display of violence and brutality on screen. Woman, men, that doesn't matter. Headshots, impalings, explosions and lots of deaths. That's about it.

Don't walk to the cinema, expecting to see a serious and complex thriller. This is a action movie that doesn't stop until its ending. You have 25 minutes of "building up" and after that, the action is pretty much nonstop.

Yeah, you'll see patriotism, but then again, a movie about the White Houlse wouldn't forget anything about it.

Finally: Go watch it for the action and some of the acting.

Olympus Has Fallen (2013)

*** (out of 4)

Former Presidential guard Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) finds himself going up against a group of terrorists who have overtaken the White House and now have the President of the United States (Aaron Eckhart) held captive. Banning must go thru the White House to save the President's son as well as try to save the main man before the terrorists get ahold of what they're after. Look, if you're walking into OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN expecting some sort of heartfelt political drama then I'd recommend leaving before the trailers are over. If you're looking for an outrageous, over-the-top, corny, goofy madhouse then this here will be your cup of tea. There's no question about it but director Antoine Fuqua does a terrific job at keeping the action moving at a fast pace and giving us some characters to root for. The film really does seem like a throwback to those films of the 1940s that were made when the U.S. was involved in WWII. Those films were very patriotic, waved the U.S. flag proudly and didn't give a darn about anyone else. This film certainly waves the flag with the villain being North Korea and I must admit that I was a little shocked at how blazing the film was in painting them as pure evil. I was also shocked to see how many guts this film had because at no time did you ever know where the story was going to go because you even have women getting beaten, which is usually something that doesn't happen in these type of films. The action is pretty much non-stop after a somewhat silly opening where we see the "tragic" circumstance that leads Banning away from his job. It doesn't take long for the guns to start firing and we're treated to all sorts of fights, explosions and violent deaths. The film is really over-the-top in terms of its story but it's equally matched by the graphic violence, which just makes for a fun time. There's even a torture sequence, which contains some hilarious dark humor. The cast is another major plus as Butler has no problem playing a sympathetic tough guy and of course Eckhart can handle his part. The supporting cast is just as fun and includes Melissa Leo, Dylan McDermott, Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett and Robert Forster. Again, the plot itself is pretty far-fetched and there's no question that the film doesn't try to be anything other than a popcorn movie. I think it really succeeds all around and is certainly one of the better action pictures so far in 2013.