Reviewing Gerard Butler’s ‘heart-stopping’ action scenes on the big screen
Dubbed the “hero who rescues the head of state”, actor Gerard Butler is always the name that ensures the quality of blockbuster action movies. Let’s review the actions of the Scottish actor that made the audience “heart-stopping”.
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life (2003)
In the second part of the film series adapted from the hit game Tomb Raider, Gerard Butler plays Terry Sheridan – the former lover of main character Lara Croft (played by Angelina Jolie).
Having served in the British Royal Navy’s special forces, Terry is locked up in a Kazakh military prison and must rely on the help of Lara Croft and the British secret service MI6 to be released. The couple then set out to find Pandora’s vase before this treasure fell into the hands of Dr. Jonathan Reiss – a Nobel Prize-winning scientist with an evil mind. The two began their journey, traveling from continent to continent to find the people who stole the priceless vase.
Paired with seductive “girl” Angelina Jolie, Gerard Butler had to practice very hard to complete his mission in the movie. Although The Cradle of Life’s revenue was not as high as the previous part, the Scottish actor’s strong, masculine face and powerful action scenes still made a strong impression on moviegoers. Even then, CNN once said that Gerard Butler would be the candidate to replace Pierce Brosnan in the next James Bond spy movies.
300 (2006)
After starting to gain fame in Hollywood, Gerard Butler truly rose to the level of an A-list star thanks to the epic film 300. In the work directed by Zack Snyder, Butler plays Leonidas, the mighty king of Sparta, commanding an army of 300 soldiers to fight the invading force of up to 300,000 soldiers of the Persian kingdom.
Impressing with eye-catching battle scenes and elaborate visuals and effects, the film with a budget of 65 million USD has achieved a revenue of up to 456 million USD globally and many prestigious awards, including a series of awards. nominated for the Saturn Award of the Academy of Science Fiction and Horror Films held annually in the United States.
With a mythical heroic appearance straight out of ancient paintings, Gerard Butler as Leonidas has “captured” countless fans, mostly female audiences. Butler’s great acting, fearless demeanor and physical beauty in the film with many bloody battle scenes have made him one of the most sought after names in the action film industry.
Even though 300 was a huge success, Butler still refused to participate in the second part called 300: Rise of an Empire (2014), and the handsome actor’s absence somehow made this sequel less attractive than the previous part. before.
Olympus Has Fallen (2013)
In 2013, Gerard Butler marked a new mark in his career with the success of the action film Olympus Has Fallen, opening the series of presidential rescue films in which he played the main action hero.
In the film, Butler plays Secret Service agent Mike Banning, who must shoulder the responsibility of saving US President Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart) when the White House is attacked by terrorists.
Although the Fall of the White House has a not new motif, thanks to the extremely intense action and heart-stopping close combat sequences, director Antoine Fuqua’s work is still extremely attractive to the audience. With a budget of 70 million USD, the film achieved a positive revenue of 170 million USD globally.
After many times of “crossing the field” to unsuccessful romantic-comedy films, Gerard Butler has proven that he was born to play psychologically heavy action films with an impressive return to the role. plays Patriot Guard Mike Banning. Once a trusted bodyguard next to the president, Banning was sent back to a boring desk job after a mistake caused a tragic accident.
Still with a cold face, determined eyes and superior fighting skills, resonating with the realistic explosion scene in the White House, Butler delivered what can be considered the best action role of his career. his up to that point.
London Has Fallen (2016)
After the success of White House Fall, Focus Features continued to produce part 2 called London Has Fallen and once again Gerard Butler returned as hero Mike Banning.
This time, the film originates from the event of the British Prime Minister’s sudden death at his home, causing a series of leaders of many countries to gather in London to attend the funeral.
Right at the most solemn moment, terrorists concentrated their firepower, assassinated heads of state and paralyzed the capital of the foggy country. In the midst of London under fire, Mike Banning will have to perform the task of protecting US President Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart) and finding the person behind the entire terrorist plot.
Continuing to play the role of a one-man secret agent, Gerard Butler has the opportunity to show off his trademark action skills in The Fall of the White House. The character Mike Banning impresses with his strength in close combat: lurking in the dark and then using martial arts to quickly defeat opponents.
With the name Gerard Butler becoming a brand, London Lost achieved even greater commercial success than the first part, bringing in 205 million USD for producers with a budget of 60 million USD. It’s not surprising that part 3 of Angel Has Fallen is in production and of course Butler’s agent Banning will continue to fight against the forces that want to attack America.
Gods of Egypt (2016)
Also in 2016, Gerard Butler also participated in the mythological blockbuster Gods of Egypt. Like the title, Egyptian Gods takes audiences back to ancient Egypt, with a fantasy world and the existence of powerful gods alongside humans.
In the film, Butler plays the god Set, who rules over the vast, arid desert. On the day that the god Osiris (played by Bryan Brown) passed the throne to his son, the god Horus (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), Set suddenly rebelled, massacred his brothers and took over the throne to rule all of Egypt, pushing the country from a single state. Peace and prosperity became chaos.
In addition to the massive and golden world of Egyptian mythology on the big screen, Egyptian Gods also creates attraction thanks to the intense action scenes with non-stop rhythm between the two gods Set and Horus. . Possessing the most acting space, Butler excellently recreated the character Set with his glorious past and decisive actions of a war god dominating the harsh desert region.
To transform into the role of the evil Egyptian god, the actor born in 1969 set out a very detailed body training process to have a strong body that resembles a god. It can be said that Gerard Butler deserves to be named “god of the screen” after two impressive performances in 300 and Egyptian Gods.
Geostorm (2017)
Geostorm is set in a world that is suffering from the consequences of climate change with extreme weather phenomena. At this time, a group of international scientists led by Americans successfully created a weather control device system called The Dutch Boy. However, they soon discover a fatal error in the system, and two talented scientists Jake (Gerard Butler) and Max (Jim Sturgess) are immediately assigned to repair The Dutch Boy.
In Global Storm, Gerard Butler plays the scientist who created a satellite system capable of controlling global weather. And he is the one who must fly to the International Space Station (ISS) to find a way to save the Earth from the danger of destruction. Taking on the theme of disaster, Geostorm is in fact also a “Gerard Butler-style” action movie as he continues to have to rescue another leader, and this time it is the US President.
However, with a work that is not too “heavy” in terms of action, the male actor seems to be quite “leisurely” in this mission to save the world. The “American hero” quality is injected into the character Jake throughout the film: liberal, strong but full of affection and responsibility.
Hunter Killer (2018)
As the face chosen by filmmakers for works with the theme of rescuing politicians, Gerard Butler continues his journey to rescue the Russian President in the latest action movie Hunter Killer (Vietnamese title: Secret Service Rescue).
In the film, he plays Captain Joe Glass, commander of an American submarine stationed in the Arctic Ocean. While traveling, they discovered a military coup plot in Russia and planned to activate the nuclear submarine system to destroy the world order. Faced with a “dangerous” situation, Captain Joe Glass will have to cooperate with the SEAL team to rescue the head of the Russian government.
Standing shoulder to shoulder with veteran Oscar-winning actor Gary Oldman, Gerard Butler is still the “magnet” that attracts audiences to enjoy the thrilling action movie Secret Service Rescue.
Butler’s tough, cold appearance and breathtaking action scenes made a strong impression in the hearts of fans. Besides, the epic scenes of fire and gunfire in the confrontation between the US military and giant Russian warships promise to bring fans thrilling, breathtaking moments.
