Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003) started my lifelong crush on Gerard Butler. Unlike Daniel Craig’s pale vanilla Alex in the first film, Butler provided a beefier and more intense love alternative for Angelina Jolie’s character. He brought an intense underlying tension and, in the love scenes, an incredibly expressive face. I followed his career to the awesome Dear Frankie (2004) and cheered when he scored the Phantom of the Opera gig. But somewhere along the way Gerard Butler stopped acting and started churning out bad rom com after bad rom com (The Bounty Hunter, The Ugly Truth, P.S. I Love You). His awesome intensity and his frame, which previously reflected his characters’ intense physicality, all exited stage right. The Gerard Butler who I previously analogized with quality and acting strength I now viewed equal to terrible movies.

After giving up, I caught Ralph Fiennes’ Coriolanus last year. Butler’s Tullus Aufidius provided an excellent antagonist and the cherry on top of an amazing Shakesperean adaptation. I declared “FINALLY! Gerard Butler is acting again!” and fell back in love. But, like a maiden with a previously broken heart, I remained tentative. I deliberately avoided  Playing for Keeps and wondered if I’d ever see the Gerard Butler I loved return. After watching, Olympus Has Fallen, I rescind my opinion. Gerard Butler is back, in spades, re-assuming his acting throne on Mount Olympus.

While I hate to disagree with my esteemed colleague, Jeremy, Olympus Has Fallen is an awesome film they should’ve run in the summer. I loved it so much, I restrained myself from running home and typing an uber-giddy review. It’s ironic the film’s called Olympus Has Fallen considering it features contemporary cinema gods, one of whom played god. Every single cast member rocked it from point one, including Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, Aaron Eckhart, and Ashley Judd. Can you imagine the daily set experience’s awesomeness? I bet the casting directors and producers high fived themselves continuously. I loved watching Angela Bassett as the Secret Service head and Morgan Freeman as Speaker Trumball. Melissa Leo did an excellent  job as the Secretary of Defense. No seriously. She mother-fucking rocked it. Also, Dylan McDermott finally found a film role where he absolutely stood out. In Three to Tango and Miracle on 34th Street, he faded into the wallpaper, lacking the fire, passion and intensity displayed in The Practice. But, here, he brings it 157%. And, yes, Ashley Judd proved equally memorable in her brief role. And, yes, Rick Yune was awesome. No one disappears in this, even supporting actors such as Radha Mitchell and Cole Hauser.

Another reason I loved this cast surrounded the years of professionalism and experience that effortlessly rolled off their shoulders. Cohesively, they portrayed the script’s underlying stories through their casual interactions with each other. I could see Angela Bassett and Gerard Butler’s characters having a long-standing brunch and Freeman’s character reluctantly deferring to those placed over him. I loved the multiple husband and wife relationships. I loved that Butler’s character attempted to recover from his earlier decision despite its detrimental effects. Although isolated, people still respected and admired him.

Whenever I forgot Butler’s presence in the other storylines, he popped up,  reminding me why I tattooed Gerard on my chest. Although Scottish, he pulled off the American hero well. Plus, Gerard Butler is H-O-T. Forget 50 Shades of Gray, Butler is seven shades of hot. Yes, ladies, the six pack is back. However, after years of action films, Butler’s fight scenes proved realistic and believable. Yes, this film has tons of violence, but not on a Criminal Minds level. Butler’s facial features are amazing. His fiery blue eyes are incredibly intense and his features relay grizzled well. Plus, I love his physicality expressed through his forearms, shoulder stance and gait and I loved his wry humor. Maybe Butler is so good because the film isn’t about Butler’s charm, it’s about his character. Mike Banning’s a survivalist which Butler portrays to a T.

Because of Olympus Has Fallen, I’ve fallen back in love with Butler. But, I won’t lie, sometimes Banning’s ability seemed a wee bit preternatural. His ability to use his unprotected body as a bullet proof shield is laughable. I can’t walk down the street without spraining my foot. But, Banning can withstand suicide bombers and bullets from close range and he can drop terrorists from afar without a sniper rifle. And, yes, his final monologue went on too long when it veered into melodramatic.

Although it’s over a decade after 9/11, I still feel uncomfortable watching the cinematic destruction of American icons. In Independence Day, it looked awesome. But, post 9/11 I find myself disturbed and wonder why filmmakers delight in the filmic destruction of American icons. Did some shots look beautiful? Yes.  All the same, similar to 9/11, the film’s terrorists used every day American objects/routines against the military, including their willingness to cooperate believing it will save hostages. And, yes, some parts of the film made me cynical. The collective leadership came across as a bunch of paper pushers that seemed too afraid of taking aggressive action, where inexplicably only one man could save the day. Also, I refuse to believe that only a limited amount of White House security wore bullet proof vests, that only a limited number of airborne support  could reach the White House and that the White House rarely changed their passwords/hiding places.

While I questioned 20% of the film, I still loved 80%. Olympus Has Fallen is a smart action film which brings Butler’s  intense on-screen talent and character dedication back to the forefront. Who knows, maybe Butler read some of the 578 daily e-mails I sent him and used his earlier hideously terrible roles to abate my mega-crush. But, now my crush is back. And, so is Gerard Butler.

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What is it about the lone hero that is so appealing? It has been in stories since they’ve been written down, from way back in Babylonian times with the Epic of Gilgamesh. Naturally, the hero gets some help along the way, from wise old men, a wily old policeman, or the Pentagon. And the hero will seek something important for the arc of his character; revenge, rescuing someone, achieving transcendence (that one’s actually also as old as Gilgamesh). Maybe it’s because when it comes down to it, we are individuals that live in giant packs of other individuals. The idea of making a difference as a singular entity is relatable and immediately connective to all people. Doing something to gain the accolades and love of others, even posthumously, that’s a goal that seems pure and useful. Even when you’re rescuing the President of the United States from radical militant North Korean anti-separatists.

Olympus Has Fallen, from director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day), follows Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) as the head of the Secret Service detail for the President (Aaron Eckhart) and his family (wife and young son). But after a tragic accident, Mike gets sent to a desk job despite not actually having made any mistakes — except caring a bit too much about duty. So we’ve got our redemptive arc all setup are ready to go! Pretty standard sort of hero’s quest, cliched but classic. And the violence starts, when a North Korean terrorist group (conveniently disavowed by the NK government, although that was realistic enough) led by Kang (actual Korean-American Rick Yune) assaults the White House and actually manages to take the President and a few key government figures hostage. So it’s time for Mike to be literally the only one left who can save the President’s son and maybe save the world a bit too. He’s helped by a group of archetypes over at the Pentagon, including Angela Bassett as the head of the Secret Service and Morgan Freeman as the Speaker of the House forced to become acting President. Hmm, why does that seem so familiar?

Naturally there are a few predictable and slightly less predictable twists and turns to the story, ranging from the marginally interesting to the ridiculously stupid. I won’t spoil the endgame, but I found it so unbelievable, I couldn’t take the movie seriously at all. That wouldn’t be a problem except the movie takes itself seriously, despite it trying to be “Die Hard in the White House.” The writing and story were overall quite bland and simplistic, clearly without any real effort put into it. But the action scenes look good, although some scenes may be distressing to those who don’t like seeing the White House or DC citizens under attack. Gerard Butler is pretty good as the lone hero, with a great imposing physical presence and what seem like decent fighting moves. It’s a shame he’s barely given anything interesting or clever to say. The rest of the cast varies; Aaron Eckhart seems like he doesn’t care about it, while Morgan Freeman is just Morgan Freeman. But Rick Yune as the villainous Kang is actually pretty decent, probably because he has a lot of non-verbal acting scenes.

It’s probably apparent at this point that the movie suffers from a poor script despite looking pretty good and having some decent performances (a few exceptions aside). What this means is that the movie is a forgettable action movie that’s not that bad, but not well remembered. It won’t be a classic, just another blip on the radar.

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CliqueClack has teamed up with FilmDistrict and Allied Integrated Marketing to offer our readers in Washington D.C. a chance to be the first to see the new action thriller Olympus Has Fallen. When a terrorist mastermind seizes control of the White House (Secret Service Code: Olympus) and captures the President, disgraced former Presidential guard Mike Banning finds himself trapped within the building. As our 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. Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) directs an all-star cast featuring Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, Melissa Leo, Ashley Judd and Rick Yune.

Olympus Has Fallen will have its advance screening on Tuesday, March 19, 7:30 PM at Regal Gallery Place. All you need to do is leave a comment telling us why you want to see this movie. We have a very limited number of passes that will be distributed on a first come, first served basis. Please, one comment per email and IP address. Multiple comments from the same email/IP address will be held in reserve if there are spare passes. You will receive a unique GoFoBo code by email with further instructions on how to claim your passes, so comment now before they’re all gone! CliqueClack has no control over the number of passes available, and this offer may end at any time.

**This offer has expired.

CliqueClack has teamed up with FilmDistrict and Allied Integrated Marketing to offer our readers in Baltimore a chance to be the first to see the new action thriller Olympus Has Fallen. When a terrorist mastermind seizes control of the White House (Secret Service Code: Olympus) and captures the President, disgraced former Presidential guard Mike Banning finds himself trapped within the building. As our 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. Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) directs an all-star cast featuring Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, Melissa Leo, Ashley Judd and Rick Yune.

Olympus Has Fallen will have its advance screening on Thursday, March 14, 7:30 PM at Cinemark Egyptian at Arundel Mills in Hanover, MD. All you need to do is leave a comment telling us why you want to see this movie. We have a very limited number of passes that will be distributed on a first come, first served basis. One comment per email and IP address. You will receive a unique GoFoBo code by email with further instructions on how to claim your passes, so comment now before they’re all gone!