12 Blatant Copycat Movie Pairs (And Which Was Better)

Antoine Fuqua’s Olympus Has Fallen is an action thriller starring Gerard Butler as a man trying to save the American president and the White House from terrorist attackers. Roland Emmerich’s White House Down, however, is an action thriller starring Channing Tatum as a man trying to save the American president and the White House from terrorist attackers. Totally not the same movie at all, right?

To be fair, there are some differences between the two movies. For example, Butler plays a disgraced ex-Secret Service agent who formerly worked on the presidential detail whereas as Tatum’s character is a wannabe Secret Service agent who hopes to work on the presidential detail.

The terrorist dudes are different too: in Olympus Has Fallen, they’re North Koreans but in White House Down they’re American mercenaries led by James Woods.

But beyond that they share pretty much the same formula – explosions aplenty, duplicitous government officials and heroic happy endings all round.

Which One Was Better?

Olympus Has Fallen might be unabashedly patriotic which earns it a few minus points, but let’s remember that though White House Down has a more seasoned action director in the shape of Emmerich it is a pretty silly movie and even Channing Tatum himself took the piss out of it in 22 Jump Street. Olympus is the victor.