Movie Review: Olympus has Fallen

Rarely do I actually see a movie on its opening day, but somehow Olympus has Fallen seemed worth catching right away. The magnificent cast (Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman, Dylan McDermott, Aaron Eckhart, Ashley Judd) and the plot line appealed to me as an exciting story.

I was right.

Post 9/11 Hollywood has some interesting challenges. On one hand, we've already seen real terrorism up close. What fictional terrorism could shock us now? One the other hand, we now believe things are possible we wouldn't have believed before. Which one of us, on 9/10/2001, would have thought we would lose the Twin Towers to terrorism, let alone the White House, which is the premise of this movie?

Olympus has Fallen has a high body count, a lot of action and some terrifying scenes. It's also patriotic and redemptive. Our hero has an early Steven Segal quality to him as he fights against all odds to save the President.

This is an action movie at its best. When it's over you will think about the many reasons those things that had you on the edge of your seat couldn't actually happen. But while you are watching the movie those things will seem real, and will terrify you.

And, whether blue state or red state, Occupy or Tea Party, Olympus has Fallen will remind you why you are proud to be an American.