OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (15, 120 mins) *** Starring Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Finley Jacobsen, Rick Yune, Angela Bassett, Melissa Leo, Dylan McDermott, Radha Mitchell, Robert Forster, Phil Austin, Keong Sim. Director: Antoine Fuqua

This testosterone-fuelled thriller contrives a Die Hard In The White House scenario from an assault on Capitol Hill by heavily-armed Korean terrorists who are fed up with America meddling in their affairs.

Overblown action sequences, realised with inconsistent digital trickery, guarantee a healthy three-figure body count in the opening hour.

Director Fuqua lights the fuse on the summer blockbuster season with an almighty, ground-shaking bang.

Following a tragedy on his watch, grizzled Secret Service agent Mike Banning (Butler) is reassigned to a desk job at the Treasury Department.

It’s a far cry from his former detail, guarding US President Benjamin Asher (Eckhart) and son Connor (Jacobsen).

A high-profile visit by the prime minister of South Korea, Lee Tae-Woo (Sim), descends into carnage when terrorists storm the most iconic building in Washington, DC.

Asher is taken hostage in a nuclear-proof bunker with Vice-President Charlie Rodriguez (Austin) and Secretary of Defence Ruth McMillan (Leo).

Without a second thought for his own safety, Mike races to the scene and infiltrates the shattered ruins of the White House, determined to atone for past mistakes.

Arriving two months before White House Down, which imagines another terrorist attack on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Olympus Has Fallen is heavy-handed but undeniably thrilling.