Olympus

On orders from Sean to take some time off and rest, I watched a movie last night that was just added to Netflix. It was one of the ones that I have been wanting to see for a while now (what can I say, I like Gerald Butler and Morgan Freeman), an action flick called “Olympus Has Fallen.” The movie is about the White House being taken over. Without giving anything away, I just wanted to share a bit about how it affected me, personally.

Be prepared, the movie feels a bit corny and the gore lies somewhere between Bourne and Django, leaning a bit more towards the latter. The thing that got to me was how they killed off so many people. I mean, everyone dies. The terrorists come in and mow down the secret service members and military personnel like they’re not ever there. Bodies. So many bodies. It was awful. I was crying through those parts, but the worst was when the terrorists shot up the American flag, and then climbed up to the top of the White House, tore it off and threw it to the ground.

That was like a knife in the heart. I never expected to have such a visceral reaction to a clichéd film, but watching the flag be destroyed left me feeling despondent.

My sister and her husband are both active duty in the Navy and some of my other family members and dearest friends are/were in the military. They serve their country every day, and I will never be able to express my gratitude. What's more, I just cannot wait to join them in the ranks. I want to be a soldier almost more than I want to be a veterinarian sometimes (the goal is to be both!). I want to honor the flag and fight for my family. I want to fight for the values this country was built on.

Back to the movie, if you’re the type who likes shoot ‘em up movies, the more blood the better, you’ll be just fine watching this movie. If not, you’ll be saving ninety minutes of your life. A word to the wise: it’s best not to watch this film right before Veteran’s Day.