Olympus Has Fallen With A Vengeance

The White House has just been taken over by terrorists.  Everyone charged with protecting the President of the United States is dead.  There is only one man inside who can save the country.  He is a disgraced former active-duty Secret Service agent, who once failed to save the life of the First Lady from a car accident.  This is the plot to the most original new idea I've seen since the last time this was done on the big screen. This is the plot to Olympus Has Fallen. 

"Olympus" is the code word for the President 

and was the throne of the Greek God Zeus. It took me

 six viewings to fully understand all the layers to this flick.

So about fifteen minutes into this action-packed film, I realized it had a handful of similarities to the Die Hard franchise. One man killing lots of terrorists in the same building… all the while not being the actual officer on duty. Gerard Butler's character, Mike Banning, is an awful lot like John McClane.

Here are EIGHT DIE-HARD Rip-Offs in OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN:

1. Terrorists Shoot an Asian Guy in the Head Right Away.

Terrorist Kang Yeonsak (Rick Yune) shoots the South Korean Prime Minister in the head to demonstrate he means business to the Americans.  Hans Gruber executes Joe Takagi after he refuses to fork over the combination to the vault in Die Hard.

2. Both Terrorist Teams Have a Nerdy Tech Overriding the Computer Systems.

3. The Government Calls in Troops to Save the Prez…

…and of course Kang and terrorists predict this move and are ready with a counter attack.  In Die-Hard, the FBI attempts an attack on Gruber's men, only to fail miserably.

FBI Agents Johnson and Johnson (no relation), 

pictured here GIF'ing out.  

4. The Main Hostage Can Sort of Relate to the Terrorists' Frustration. You can't kill him.  He's a real pain in the ass.  Trust me, your primary hostage knows all about it.  
  

 5. The Terrorists Send a Spy. 

Kang sends Banning's former colleague Forbes (Dylan McDermott) to kill him. Sound familiar? Hans Gruber uses the alias Bill Clay to briefly dupe John McClane.

6. The Hero Takes a Moment to Relax, Reflect and Enjoy a Calm Radio Conversation While Bleeding All Over the Place.

Whether it's by Blue Tooth or Walkie-Talkie, every bad ass needs

a moment to kick back and allow the bleeding to stop.

7. Cale is Ordered Over the Intercom to Surrender President Sawyer… aw, shit.  That's the wrong damn movie.  Sorry.

Wrong damn movie, my apologies.  That's confusing. 

At Least Olympus Didn't Copy Die Hard By Having the Hero Receive Moral Support From a Black Guy the Entire Movie…

Side Note: Family Matters.  Give Your Kids Lots of Attention.

Oh, Wait a Minute… That's the Whole Point of Morgan Freeman's Character.  Scratch that. 

8. The Hero Receives Moral Support From a Black Guy the Entire Movie.