24 did Olympus Has Fallen's White House siege first - and arguably did a better job with it too. Following the success of Die Hard, there came a slew of movies that attempted to copy its formula. The most famous examples include Under Siege (AKA Die Hard on a boat), Speed (... on a bus) or Passenger 57 (... on a plane). This particular subgenre died down in the late '90s due to the success of movies like The Matrix, but they still pop up occasionally. 2013 saw the arrival of two blockbusters with the same basic premise, with White House Down and Olympus Has Fallen both revolving around terrorists seizing the White House.

Neither received particularly good reviews, but Olympus Has Fallen had the advantage of coming out first and embracing a more old-school, R-rated style of action, meaning its won that box-office race. The movie's success also led to a surprise franchise, fronted by Gerard Butler as Secret Service agent Mike Banning. Both 2016's London Has Fallen and Angel Has Fallen were successful, with the latter stripping back the scale somewhat to become more of a character piece for Banning. The franchise is set to continue with Butler returning once again for Night Has Fallen, though the story and release date have yet to be confirmed.

Related: Why The Die Hard / 24 Crossover Movie Was Cancelled

Olympus Has Fallen's big twist on the Die Hard formula was its unique setting, with the White House upping the stakes considerably. Despite this, real-time thriller series 24 beat the movie to the concept by four years. 24 season 7 - which resurrected Tony Almeida - was the first series set outside Los Angeles and brought Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) to Washington, where he's drawn into another unfolding crisis. Around the midway point of the season, Jack finds himself at the White House interrogating a potential suspect when the building is seized by Tony Todd's General Zuma, the leader of a failed coup in a fictional African nation called Sangala. Zuma and his men sneak into the building through an underground tunnel with the intent of taking President Taylor (Cherry Jones) hostage, and it's to Jack to - once again - save the day.

24 white house jack bauer

24's take on the White House siege lacks the budget of Olympus Has Fallen - or by extension, White House Down - so the scale is more intimate and tense. Olympus Has Fallen beats 24 - where a revival can only work with Jack - in that Banning occasionally offers a one-liner or quip to break the tension, but the show has it beat in terms of pacing. The attack happens so suddenly it's moderately believable it could actually happen. It also makes up for the lack of bombast with nail-biting suspense, such as President Taylor being forced to leave her safe room when her daughter is threatened.

Todd also makes for a chilling villain and the resolution to the White House siege is suitably dramatic and results in the demise of a fan-favorite character. Olympus Has Fallen's overlong runtime and odd clash of tones - where it's very severe and dour one moment before being oddly goofy the next - let it down, and while 24's take on the concept should have let Jack Bauer - who never needs the bathroom - do a little more sneaking around, it has a better handle on the idea.

Next: Night Has Fallen Should Make Gerard Butler's Banning The Next President