If Hollywood studios insist on competing with each other in
narratives of choice, at least we have some variety in the stylistic choices of
these films. Within the first half of 2013, there were at least three films
with central storylines involving the White House being invaded. In the most
cartoonish sense, we have the ninjas invading the Oval Office in G.I. Joe:
Retaliation. More in-line with the buddy action comedies of the 1990s is Roland
Emmerich’s White House Down, while
director Antoine Fuqua takes us down a darker path with Olympus Has Fallen.
Gerard Butler
heads up the ‘Die Hard in the White
House’ plot as former Presidential guard Mike Banning. After this secret
service agent fails the president, he is shamed with a job across the street
from the White House, but an opportunity for redemption arises when an
insurgent attack suddenly takes out the ground security and invades the White
House, codename Olympus . The President of the United States
When I read
reviews saying that this was a dark film, I guess I assumed that they were
merely referring to the fact that the lights are off in the White House for
much of the film. It is dark in this sense, but also in the sense that there is
little humor or light spectacle in the deaths. The type of action utilized here
is the same as those in the Expendables
films, minus the cheesy one-liners. Banning doesn’t just kill the invaders; he
brutally hurts them and then emotionlessly ends them. The film might have been
helped with some humor and less patriotic fervor, or perhaps may have been
better accepted by audiences ten years ago when it may have served some
cathartic purpose.
Entertainment Value:
8/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 6/10
Historical
Significance: 6/10
Disc Features: 1/10
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