Planeis far from the only modern thriller in Gerard Butler’s repertoire, making up just a small fraction of the great present-day action films making up the actor’s filmography. For the most part, the Scottish actor Gerard Butler is best known for his roles as King Leonidas in Zack Snyder’s300and as Hiccup’s father, Stoic, in theHow to Train Your Dragonfilm series. However, Butler has many excellent action films to his name that escape these kinds of fantasy settings similar to 2023’sPlane.
Plane sees Gerard Butler star as pilot Brodie Torrance, who is forced to land his aircraft in hostile territory after a fearsome storm. Stuck in a warzone despite being a civilian pilot, the stakes and tension of his tale of survival make the most out of Butler’s intense acting acumen. Luckily, fans ofPlanewill be able to find plenty of similargripping action thrillersin Gerard Butler’s catalog.
Not unlike thefilms of Roland Emmerichsuch asThe Day After Tomorrowand2012, Geostormis a straightforward man vs. nature story with a lot to offer. Butler stars in a surprisingly heady role, that of a scientist who managed to crack the secret of the weather machine, creating a series of satellites that control the natural phenomena of the Earth. Unfortunately, this network of weather machines is hacked, wreacking havoc on the entire planet in a series of cataclysmic disasters.
LikePlane,Geostormsees Butler’s character thrust into all manner of dangerous environments, though the danger is far more ambient and ecological. He also enjoys the benefit of a phenomenal supporting cast of character actors, including Jim Sturgess, Abbie Cornish, and Ed Harris as the United States Secretary of State. Although it may have been critically panned,Geostormis a blast for any fan of Butler’s willing to turn off their brain a little bit.
Geostormisn’t the only action thriller starring Gerard Butler to center on a world-ending apocalypse scenario. EnterGreenland, a film that supposes that a massive comet will be coming to strike the Earth imminently, undoubtedly causing death on a global scale if not ending the human race outright. Butler stars as an engineer desperate to get his family to safety in the ensuing chaos, even in the face of planetary annihilation.
ThoughGreenlandbears a surface-level plot similarity to the likes of twin asteroid impact filmsArmageddonandDeep Impact, it takes the story in a different direction. While there are certainly many impressive beats of widespread destruction as the comet smashes the planet,the story is a far more intimate one, anchoring itself in the familial humanity of Butler’s character trying to save his wife and child. A victim of a real-world disaster, the COVID-19 pandemic, in theaters, the few that sawGreenlandcan attest to its quality.
Similar to how bothArmageddonandDeep Impact, two films with weirdly specific plots that just so happened to be the same, premiered in 1998,Olympus Has Fallenwas released in 2013 alongsideWhite House Down.Both films center on a hostile takeover of the White House itself, with small teams of soldiers and officials tasked with guarding the president. Their similarity easily invites comparison, and luckily for Gerard Butler,Olympus Has Fallenis easily the better of the two.
Butler plays a Secret Service agent with more than a professional friendship with the fictional sitting president, played by Aaron Eckhart. The set-up gives him a classic “pulled out of retirement for one last job” hook when the White House staff admit to themselves he’s the best person for the job. Even ifOlympus Has Fallenstealsthe plot of a24episode, and is sometimes only enjoyable ironically, it’s a great modern-day action showing from Butler to take stock of.
Den of Thieves
A criminally overlooked crime movie,Den of Thievesjust might be one of the best action offerings in Gerard Butler’s long career. The 2018 film stars Butler as a grizzled cop, known simply as “Big Nick”. Big Nick’s goal is to track down an elusive band of thieves, led by the aptly-named Ray Marrimen, a former Marine.
Silly though his name may sound, Big Nick is one of Gerard Butler’s most fascinating characters, at once a typical assertive action hero and a deeply vulnerable, even pitiable man whose personal life is crumbling to pieces.Den of Thievesis more crime action movie than character study, but it’s still great to see Butler flex his acting muscles just as much as his literal ones. The effort rewarded him with one of his biggest critical and financial hits in years.
Despite being one of Gerard Butler’s more recent films, sporting a 2021 release date,Copshopis shockingly overlooked. The ’70s-inspired crime thriller sees Butler break typecasting somewhat by playing one of his scummiest characters yet, a professional hitman. Assigned with taking out an imprisoned con artist, played by Frank Grillo, Butler’s character allows himself to get arrested on purpose to infiltrate this confinement and seek out his target.
Putting a true emphasis on its earned title as “thriller”,Copshopis phenomenal at dialing up and maintaining a thick level of tension. The film’s nature as a throw-back to the greatpolice capers of the ‘70salso helps it stand out further amid Butler’s wider filmography. While calling it a modern masterpiece may be a bit of a stretch, it could easily be considered the Scottish actor’s best action appearance.
For audiences seeking the specific brand of actionPlaneprovides, featuring Gerard Butler, a signature vehicle, and a tense military situation to navigate, one must look no further thanHunter Killer.Here, Butler stars as loose cannon Navy Commander Joe Glass, a newly-promoted officer tasked with searching for an American submarine that mysteriously went missing while shadowing a Russian vessel in the Arctic. Peeling back the layers of this compelling mystery turns out to be quite the dangerous task.
The reveal of what exactly is occurring is satisfyingly clever, calling back to films with nuclear worries likeDr. Strangelove.Butler also gets to enjoy a top-tier supporting cast here, including Gary Oldman and the late Michael Nyqvist. Few films starring Butler can offer an experience as startlingly similar in both premise and quality toPlaneasHunter Killer.
With such a hilariously rote title, it’s a surprise thatGameris quietly one of the most exciting action films to use Gerard Butler’s likeness. While Butler doesn’t technically star as the main character, he is the vehicle for the majority of the action, playing the avatar of an avid gamer (played by Logan Lerman) trapped in a sort of human deathmatch. With all the edginess, creativity, and grit of fellow creative 2000s action flicks likeCrank, it’s a shockGamerdidn’t catch on more.
EvenButler himself callsGamerunderrated, and it’s easy to see why. The film has a unique set-up that places two lives in mortal peril at once, even if its command of gaming culture and lingo is a bit limited. The crass humor may sour many viewers’ palettes, but it’s undeniable that Michael C. Hall is wonderful as one of the most despicable villains to share the screen with Butler ever. More importantly, it’s remarkably able to keep up withPlanein terms of raw tension and action setpieces.
