Olympus Has FallenMovie Reviews

Olympus Has Fallen Showtimes + Tickets

So-so

Avg. Critic Score: 41 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore^® based on all critic reviews

Information for Parents:

Iffy for 16+

Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

75

San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle
It's that wonderful, totally unambitious yet satisfying thing, a really good movie. Read full review
75

Chicago Sun-Times |
While Olympus Has Fallen breaks no major new ground in the political thriller genre, Fuqua has directed a sharp, very taut adventure that keeps you engrossed from start to finish. Read full review
63

Philadelphia Inquirer | Steven Rea
Any semblance of seriousness and verisimilitude suggested by the marketing campaign is quickly forgotten once director Antoine Fuqua's enjoyably tacky Die Hard-on-the-Potomac gets under way. Read full review
60

New York Daily News | Elizabeth Weitzman
Perhaps every generation gets the movie stars it deserves. “Olympus” has quite a bit to say about the current state of our country. Intentions aside, not all of it is entirely flattering. Read full review
60

The Hollywood Reporter | Todd McCarthy
Generates a fair amount of tension and produces the kind of nationalistic outrage that rock-ribbed Americans will feel in their guts. Read full review
50

Boston Globe | Tom Russo
Butler serves the cause well, considering. Think that cause is a thankless one? Shhh, don’t tell Secret Service agent Channing Tatum or president Jamie Foxx, headed your way in June with, yes, “White House Down.” Read full review
50

Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman
The countdown-to-Armageddon structure generates almost no tension, but Olympus Has Fallen does have lots of squalidly bloody hand-to-hand action, all of which is so pulpy and standardthat the film actually makes you grateful for the presence of Gerard Butler, gnashing his teeth in the Bruce Willis role. Read full review
50

USA Today | Claudia Puig
This is for those who like their political thrillers far-fetched, far-reaching and filled with pretty people. Read full review
35

NPR | Ian Buckwalter
Feels from start to finish like a throwback to the action cinema and military thrillers of decades past. Read full review
0

Wall Street Journal | Joe Morgenstern
Olympus Has Fallen is no fun at all. To the contrary, it soon grows tedious, odious and oppressive. Read full review

Metacritic link View more reviews for Olympus Has Fallen on Metacritic

Information for Parents

Common Sense Media says Iffy for 16+ Patriotism and extreme violence in tense action flick.

What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that Olympus Has Fallen is a remarkably violent but patriotic action thriller that's like Die Hard meets Air Force One, with way more blood. The body count is insanely high -- people are tortured, blown up, shot, and killed in hand-to-hand combat. Plus, a mom dies in a terrible car accident early in the film, and kids and animals are in peril. All of the violence is grisly and cringe-inducingly realistic -- you'll see severed limbs, cracked bones, televised assassinations, and blood splattering everywhere. On the other hand, there's no sex or romance except for a couple of marital kisses, and the language is strong ("f--k," "s--t," "a--hole") but not relentless. The movie definitely bleeds red, white, and blue, but the intense violence is too much for young teens.

Families can talk about the amount of violence in Olympus Has Fallen. How does it compare to other action films you've seen? Is it necessary to the story? Is it more justifiable because it's in the service of saving the president?
For a long time after 9/11, it was frowned upon to show national landmarks being destroyed in a movie. Is it less impactful now, or is it still disturbing?
Koreans have recently become a popular "enemy" in movies and TV shows. What are the consequences of portraying a particular group that way?

The good stuff

Positive messages: There's a strong patriotic message, though it's wrapped in lots of violence. Sacrifice for your country is promoted, as is sacrifice for the life of innocents. One man is able to take on an entire small army of terrorists and -- with his strength, smarts, and dedication (and weapons) -- defeat the enemy.
Positive role models: All of the Secret Service agents and soldiers take their jobs seriously, and Mike goes above and beyond the call of duty to save the president, his son, and everyone being held hostage at the White House. The president and his Cabinet hold up remarkably well under threat of execution.

What to watch for

Violence: Extreme, cringe-inducingly realistic action violence. The body count is enormous; people are blown up, shot, stabbed, and tortured in various ways (a knife held up to someone's throat, about to puncture it; a brutal kicking/beating to the head and body; threatening to kill another person if someone doesn't reveal a code; etc.). Viewers hear bones crunching and see blood spatter, spraying brain matter, and severed limbs as highly trained men kill each other. Washington, D.C., landmarks are destroyed, including the White House and the Washington Monument. The worst moments involve torture and assassination of public officials, including members of the president's Cabinet and basically every Secret Service agent and military official stationed at the White House. A female Cabinet member is beaten nearly to death. Children and animals are in peril (a dog is ultimately shot in the head); early in the movie, a mother dies in a terrible car accident. A boy is shown playing violent video games.
Sexy stuff: A kiss between the president and his wife at the beginning of the movie and one at the end between Mike and his wife.
Language: Strong language includes many uses of "f--k," "s--t," "a--hole," "hell," "ass," "goddamn," "oh my God," and more.
Consumerism: Not an issue
Drinking, drugs and smoking: Not an issue

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