'Olympus Has Fallen' debuts strong, but didn't win critics' praise

It wasn't an awful weekend to go to the theater, as movie goers had a few diverse choices to keep everyone reasonably happy. DreamWorks' latest 3D animated offering, The Croods, came out swinging, winning the weekend box office handily and fending off competition from a romantic comedy and an action thriller film. When it's kids vs. adults at the box office, the kids almost always win. This weekend was no exception to that general rule.

In a weekend that saw a lot of us glued to our TVs watching March Madness, The Croods managed "strike animated gold," pulling in nearly $45 million in its debut. That's good. In fact, that's actually great, especially considering that most didn't think The Croods would do that well, so it's outperforming. Is this a sign that movie fans are finally returning to theaters after a long, cold winter? Let's not get ahead of ourselves, though it's certainly promising.

Now to the second place film this weekend, the Antoine Fuqua-directed thriller Olympus Has Fallen: I saw this one, and I'm actually not surprised it did so well ($30.5 million for those keeping score). This action drama, starring Gerard Butler (I know, right?), Morgan Freeman and Aaron Eckhart, did not get good reviews. At best, the movie critics were lukewarm. Knowing this, I still bought a ticket, with low expectations. The spouse was demanding an action thriller, having been hugely disappointed in A Good Day to Die Hard last month. Compromise makes a happy marriage, so off we went.

Imagine my surprise when I actually realized I liked Olympus Has Fallen. I didn't love it, but I was interested enough to not look at my watch constantly. Sometimes I don't agree with these major movie critics (the film has a 50% rating on Rotten Tomatoes' "Tomatometer"). This is one of those times. Sure, the movie is extremely violent and, at times, utterly ridiculous, but it's a fun ride. It's also tense, which I expected from director Antoine Fuqua. It moves at a fast enough clip, particularly in the first half of the film, to keep you super interested in what's going on.

I cannot believe I'm saying this, but I actually really liked Gerard Butler in Olympus Has Fallen. Butler brings jut the right balance to his role as Secret Service Agent Mike Banning, the man essentially charged with saving the President from a terrorist attack. He manages to rattle off just enough wisecracks to rival Die Hard's John McClane. This, finally, is a solid Gerard Butler film. So much so, that I'm almost willing to forgive him for Playing for Keeps and The Bounty Hunter. Almost. I mean come on, The Bounty Hunter was one of the worst movies ever made. It's hard to get past that kind of screw up.

So guess what, critics? You might be right that Olympus Has Fallen isn't an Oscar-worthy work of art, but audiences apparently do not care. One report indicates that the film's CinemaScore is an A-. That speaks volumes, and it indicates that word of mouth might very well keep people coming to see this movie in the weeks to come.

This isn't the first time that I've disagreed with critics, but it's the first time in a while. Again, I'm not saying run to the theater right now and see this masterpiece -- I'm just saying that if you dig a nifty White House action film that doesn't involve a whole lot of deep thinking, this is a solid option. I was a big fan of Fuqua's Training Day, and while Olympus Has Fallen doesn't really come close, it's not a disappointment.

The acting in Olympus Has Fallen is decent (particularly Gerard Butler), the story is preposterous but fun if you suspend all reality and the action scenes are actually quite good. And, like in Training Day, there is a significant plot twist. I'm going to just leave it at that, because I'm not one to spoil anyone's good time.

My spouse, by the way, is the demo for this kind of film. He loved it. He said this is exactly what Die Hard was not: Filled with great action scenes and a halfway decent storyline. He said, and I quote, "the critics gave this one a bad rap." Take that for what it's worth.

One other note from the weekend box office: The Tina Fey and Paul Rudd comedy Admission performed very, very poorly, taking in a dismal $6.4 million. No doubt this is one of the worst Fey movie debuts ever. Is America's love affair with All Things Tina Fey over? Probably not, but this is clearly a bomb for her. I'll see it, but only once it's out on DVD.

Did anyone see anything worthwhile this weekend, at the theater or on DVD? And also, have you ever loved a movie that the critics just didn't like? If so, let's hear about it in the comments.

Photos courtesy of Popmatters.com and Starpulse.com