Ever since Gerard Butler botched the Irish accent in the cinematic toothache that was PS I Love You, I've found it increasingly hard to take him seriously. Maybe it's just me but even when speaking with his own Scottish lilt, he sounds like he's putting on an accent. While many would jump to his defence when considering the likes of 300 or Reign of Fire, he's gone down in our estimation of late.
If you turn a blind eye to the recent Playing for Keeps, perhaps Butler will redeem himself with the forthcoming Olympus Has Fallen. It seems like an interesting story - after all, who doesn't love a good President flick - but even two seconds into the trailer, his over the top Americanised 'Mr President; five minutes Sir' sounds utterly contrived. What is it about Butler that I find so irksome? Is he really that good an actor to have worked his way up the slipper rungs of the Hollywood ladder? I'm not quite sure.
Here, Butler stars as an ex-Secret Service agent who finds himself trapped in the White House during a terrorist attack. Having failed to save the life of the President's wife at the movie's outset, thus resulting in his expulsion from the service, when terrorists take Aaron Eckhart's President hostage, it's Butler's chance to save the day.
Despite a few cheesy Independence Day style lines like 'With all due respect, I'm the only hope you've got' and the fact that they've hired Morgan - I only-play-figures-of-authority - Freeman to play the acting President, Olympus Has Fallen does look like decent rainy day, Maltesers and popcorn viewing. What's more, it's from the director of Training Day, which we reckon can only be a good thing.
Will Butler impress? We'll have to wait and see.
