Olympus Has Fallen REVIEW

AMERICA!

That's the general feeling you'll get walking out of the theater. Is that a bad thing? Not if you don't mind a tad (A LOT) of flag waving. There is literally a shot of the american flag "dying" as it's tossed to the ground by the North Korean terrorist group. Though to be honest, what did you expect from a movie comparing the White House to OLYMPUS? Jingoistic nonsense aside, I'd have to say this is the best Die Hard film since... 1995's Die Hard with a Vengeance.

18 whole years since the last great Die Hard flick would leave anybody foaming at the mouth for a modicum of the old film's quality. So take it with a grain of salt when I say that Olympus Has Fallen is the best Die There are certain things one comes to expect from a good Die Hard film; great action, great hero, great one liners, great acting (surprisingly), and a good (believable - in movie standards) story. This film, has 3.5 out of 5. That leaves it somewhere between Above Average and "Good" which is a good place to be considering the dearth of good Die Hard rip offs (or sequels).

First what the movie does well:

• Action
• Hero
• One Liners
• Acting (half the cast - hence .5)

Directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, Tears of the Sun) this film certainly has one of the better directors than most of it's ilk since.. well John McTiernan (Die Hard and Die Hard with a Vengeance). Often times it seems a good director is the LAST thing on a studio's mind when putting together the next action "spectacle." Fuqua puts together a rousing and rather terrifying White House siege and subsequent takeover, gives us gritty hand-to-hand combat, makes full use of the R rating and gets the most out of his primary cast and the best performance from Gerard Butler since "300." Speaking of Butler, he probably needed this more than anyone*.

With a lesser director the film's opening moments and other little emotional touches and beats would of rang false or felt (more) like manipulation. He manages to make the ridiculous story far more believable and carry far more impact than it would have otherwise. Starting with his main character, our Scottish turned American John McClane clone, Mike Banning (Gerard Butler). His brief introduction/backstory leading to his eventual place of American Savior is a story touch that most films would of glossed over but this event permeates throughout the film; it makes his character closer human than most action heroes have been of late (including John McClane himself).

The film sports a (mostly) great supporting cast in Aaron Eckhart, Melisso Leo, Angela Bassett, Morgan Freeman, and Rick Yune as the villain. Aaron Eckhart's President benefits from the film's opening as much Butler's Mike Banning, giving him far more than one would normally get with that particular character. His relationship with Banning and Banning's with his son help elevate the film from action schlock to an actual movie with stakes; in turn elevating the action itself.

The Speaker of the House (and eventual stand-in President) Trumbull is played by Morgan Freeman with a little less gravitas than normally expected from a Freeman character but he's still good. The Secretary of Defense and Secret Service Director are portrayed respectively by Melisso Leo and Angela Bassett; both great actresses in their own right and both give earnest performances but Leo get's out a little worse for ware. Radha Mitchell is good as Banning's wife but she's given nothing to do, leaving her with a forgettable character which is where the negatives rear their ugly head.

What the movie does not do well:

• Acting (half of the cast - hence .5)
• Story
• Action (bad CGI)

Morgan Freeman plays Morgan Freeman, and while in most films that's a good thing, I wasn't sure what they were trying to do with his character. It seemed like Trumbull could of been played by almost anyone, Freeman simply attached for the big name. Don't get me wrong, he was good, and I'd rather him than "anybody" but a little let down by the way his character was utilized and underwritten. Dylan McDermott is OKAY as one of Banning's former Secret Service buddies but again he felt like he was just not utilized very well and simply thrown in to the mix (also SPOILER: one of the worst telegraphed turncoats in a film).

Radha Mitchell, Melissa Leo, and James Ingersoll round out the cast and while Mitchell's character is let down more by given nothing to do, a fault of writing much like Freeman and McDermott, Leo and Ingersoll have no excuse. Melisso Leo's character is the flag waving personified. While she mostly portray's the character quite well her patriotism is so blunt a toned down performance could of gone a long way toward reducing the trauma. Ingersoll's Hoenig is the worst Admiral in U.S. History. His character would be forgettable (acting) if not for the bone-headed decisions (writing); a better performance would of givennAdmiral Hoenig more of an iron fist and made him more of a presence instead of being just an annoyance.

To be fair though, Hoenig's actions give Freeman's Trumball his best scene in the film. The action while mostly great, is hampered just a bit by some poor CGI (likely due to budget). The film sometimes looks like it could of used a bit more time in post production but the studio booted it out in time to beat White House Down to theaters. Another instance of Deep Impact vs Armageddon this summer. While I'm a fan of Armageddon, Deep Impact is the better film and right now Olympus Has Fallen is looking to be the better of the two White House siege films.

Olympus Has Fallen is far from perfect, but as I've stated before, no film is perfect and I'd prefer a flawed but good Die Hard film than a soulless, lazy, money-grubbing sequel. While this is not actually Die Hard, I appreciate the effort given to make it more memorable than most action films and one could do worse than "rip off" the formula of one of the greats. If you can get by the flag-waving (really, who cares?) you'll experience a solid action flick and a damn good time at the movies.

Rating: 7.5/10

Hope ya'll enjoyed the review. Keep loving what ya love, share it with who ya love and share your thoughts.

-The Natural Jay

Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal REVIEW

Trust and Betrayal.

Anime (Japanese Animation) is not very respected these days despite it's storied history; people completely dismiss classics such as Akira, Ghost in the Shell, and Ninja Scroll just because they're "Anime." Another on that list unfairly shoved aside would be Rurouni Kenshin: Tsuioku Hen, or perhaps better known as Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal as it was released in the U.S. The OVA (Original Video Animation), or mini-series, released in 1999 took people completely by surprise serving as a prequel to the very popular Rurouni Kenshin series; revealing the upbringing and transformation of young Shinta into Kenshin of the show.

"The moon peers down on a diseased world. There is no cure for the disease. An entire race vaults mindlessly into destruction. Not even a man of colossal power would be able to prevent the inevitable."

The 4-part OVA opens with young Shinta traveling with a group of  traders and slavers as they're viciously attacked by bandits. Several women give their lives to shield the young boy from the bandit's blades; it's a scene of complete carnage and savagery. When all the women lay slain, his fate seems all but sealed before a wandering swordsman intervenes, laying waste to the bandits in an instant. After doing his best to bury the women (and their attackers) that valiantly gave their lives to defend him, Shinta wonders why they did so when they had no reason and wishes he had had the strength to defend them.

"Death no longer horrifies men...so he creates slavery and savagery which surpass the horror of dying. These can only be fought with more bloodshed and the cycle never ends."

The wanderer reveals himself to be Seijūrō Hiko, a master of the Hiten Mitsurugi, strongest of all sword forms; he offers to him such a strength. He takes the boy as his apprentice, giving him a new name: Kenshin.

"A child's name, too soft for a swordsman. As of today, you are Kenshin."

Years pass and the student grows restless. He wishes to apply his abilities and the principles of Hiten Mitsurugi, to protect the weak and innocent, to the world that's descending into darkness around him. The Meiji Restoration has happened upon Japan and Kenshin cannot stand by while the warring of the factions brings about the blood shed of defenseless innocence. His master Seijūrō knows the pain that lies ahead of him, not wanting him to become a tool of destruction; become a pawn of nefarious men.

"Go down there. Brand yourself a murderer...long before you were born, my sword was tearing asunder the lives of men. Yes all of those men were evil, but they were human beings first and foremost."

From there it's Kenshin's transformation from wide-eyed (but skilled) teenager, into the Hitokiri Battōsai; or Battosai the Manslayer. The story is excellent, the action is sparse but fierce, the animation is beautiful, and the music is ethereal. Which brings us to the voice-acting, probably the most controversial component of the entire package, I consider it to be.. respectable; both the Japanese original and the oft-maligned English dub. There has been more than one instance where disdain for English dub has been rightly so but in this case I believe it's a matter of either being traumatized or spoiled.

"The world you ardently desire to enter will not know what do with you... you will accept it's lies, all the while your hands will be stained with the worst of offenses."

There is no other reason for the extreme reaction given to certain release's English dubbing, particularly this one. It is pretty faithful to the Japanese original with only a blemish or two; what most people (extreme "purists") have a problem with is the voice actor's themselves. I just don't see it (or hear it), and while I may be just slightly partial to the English dub (being first version watched) it's not enough to warrant that either one is superior to the other. To each their own.

Regardless of which audio you prefer, neither take away from the story. The English and Japanese voice actor's convincingly portray and match each character. Matching is probably the most important given that the barrier most people have when considering to go with dub or original audio, is whether a character's voice actor matches that character. At which point, it's more subjective than just about any other piece concerning Trust and Betrayal. So if you are more accepting of English dubs, and/or prefer it, you could do far worse, and if you prefer original audio, you'll be just fine.

This OVA proves to be one of the best ever created and some of the best anime can offer. It's not a prerequisite to watch Rurouni Kenshin the show to enjoy this self-contained superbly crafted mini-series. Do yourself a favor, if you're a fan of anime and haven't gotten around to it or you've stayed away from Japanese Animation, pick up a copy of Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal; it's been available for years on DVD but if you can, pick it up on Blu-Ray. 

Rating: 10/10

I hope ya'll enjoyed the review, leave your comments, similar or dissenting opinions, and keep loving What ya love and keep sharing it with Who ya love.

-The Natural Jay