Olympus Has Fallen (2003)

If Olympus Has Fallen was made 10 years earlier.

Directed By: Tony Scott

See Also: White House Down (2003)

Plot
Former Army Ranger Mike Banning (Nicolas Cage) is the lead U.S. Secret Service agent assigned to head the U.S. Presidential detail. Banning maintains a personal, friendly relationship with President Benjamin Asher (John Travolta), First Lady Margaret (Julie Roberts) and their son Connor (Josh Hutcherson). During a snowy Christmas evening drive from Camp David to a campaign fundraiser, the car transporting the First Family spins out of control on a bridge due to icy conditions; Banning pulls Asher from the vehicle, but fails to save Margaret as she falls to her death inside the car.

Eighteen months later, having been removed from the presidential detail, Banning works at Treasury headquarters. During a meeting between Asher and South Korean Prime Minister Lee Tae-Woo (John Cho) at the White House, a North Korean terrorist organization, led by Kang Yeonsak (Ken Watanabe), mounts an air and ground assault that results in the capture of the building. The group is aided by treasonous members of the prime minister's own detail, including Dave Forbes (Timothy Olyphant), a former Secret Service agent. Asher and several top officials are held hostage in the White House bunker; South Korean Prime Minister Lee is executed on live video. Before his own death, detail agent Roma (Matthew Borderick) alerts the Director of the Secret Service Lynne Jacobs (Angela Bassett) that "Olympus has fallen".

During the initial assault by Kang's forces, Banning joins the White House's defenders. He falls back into the White House, disabling the internal surveillance and gaining access to Asher's satellite ear phone, which he uses to maintain contact with Jacobs and Speaker of the House Allan Trumbull (Morgan Freeman), now the Acting President.

Kang seeks to use Asher's hostage status as leverage to force U.S. officials to withdraw the Seventh Fleet and U.S. forces from the Korean Peninsula, thus removing American opposition to a North Korean invasion of South Korea. He also seeks to destroy the American nuclear weapons stockpile by detonating them in their respective silos across the country, turning the United States into an irradiated wasteland. To accomplish this, he requires the access codes to a system called Cerberus, which are held by three top government officials, including the President, all of whom are inside the bunker. Asher orders the other two officials to reveal their codes to save their lives, certain that he will not give up his code.

Authorized to proceed, Banning’s first act is to save the President's son Connor, whom Kang plans to use to force Asher to reveal his Cerberus code. Banning finds Connor hiding in the building's walls and sneaks the boy to safety. Banning then begins reconnaissance, during which he kills several of the terrorists, including Forbes. Meanwhile, Army Chief of Staff General Edward Clegg (Robert Vaughn) convinces Trumbull to order an aerial SEAL assault on the White House. Kang discovers the assault force and activates the Hydra 6, an advanced anti-aircraft system built by the military. Discovering the system, Banning advises Trumbull and Clegg to abort the mission, but the new weapon system annihilates most of the assault force before Banning can stop it. Kang retaliates for the infiltration by killing Vice President Charlie Rodriguez (Phil Austin).

After Banning disables Kang’s communications, Kang tries to execute Secretary of Defense Ruth McMillan (Sigourney Weaver) outside the White House in front of the media, but Banning rescues her. With his forces dwindling, Kang fakes his and Asher's death by sacrificing several of his men and the remaining hostages. However, Banning sees through the ruse. Kang eventually cracks Asher’s code using a brute-force attack and activates Cerberus. As Kang and his remaining men attempt to escape, Banning ambushes them and kills the remaining terrorists. During the fight, Asher tries to break free from Kang's grip and is subsequently shot by him in the stomach. Banning and Kang confront each other and a climactic fight breaks out, in which Kang quickly gains the upper hand. Eventually, Banning kills Kang by stabbing him in the head with a knife and disables Cerberus with the assistance of Trumbull and his staff, with only seconds to spare.

During daybreak, Banning walks out with Asher and is received by the soldiers posted to await their arrival. After the events, the United States begins to heal from the attack, while Banning once again heads the president's security detail.