White House Down

WHITE HOUSE DOWN is a film with myriad problems. It's directed by Roland Emmerich for once, a guy known for his less than stellar effects films like 2012 and GODZILLA, although once in a while he makes something like INDEPENDENCE DAY to make up for the bad stuff. It has some terrible CGI effects of helicopters in particular. It's a 12 certificate movie, which means that although violent it's not realistically violent. It's overlong. Channing Tatum, despite being a hot property in Hollywood, is wooden beyond belief. And, as with many Hollywood blockbusters, the writers have to shoehorn one of those annoying teenage characters into the storyline.

Despite all these flaws, I have to say I enjoyed WHITE HOUSE DOWN. It's no masterpiece, and it's not as good as the more serious OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN which came out at the same time. But it keeps your attention on it throughout, and it never fails to entertain. The various DIE HARD homages come thick and fast, and Jamie Foxx has never been so much fun as the Obama-style President who gets in on the action. The bad guys are suitably bad, James Woods acts up the screen, and there's a ton of explosive action to enjoy. You may want more, but this didn't disappoint as a light popcorn flick.

White House Down (2013)

1/2 (out of 4)

To quote Roger Ebert: "I hated, hated, hated this movie." Roland Emmerich's latest disaster is about a cop (Channing Tatum) who is taking his daughter on a tour of the White House when terrorist take it over and try to take the President (Jamie Foxx) hostage. Now the cop, whose daughter can't really stand him, must try to impress her by saving the day and her favorite President. For starters, go watch OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN as it's a much better action movie and deals with the same subject. I'm sorry but if Emmerich were making movies back in the 70s they'd be lucky to play third bill at a drive-in just before the sun comes up. I really can't wrap my brain around how someone can make such bad movies one after another. Is he doing it on purpose? Surely he didn't make this film as bad as it is without doing it on purpose. Everything from the story to the acting to the CGI effects are just downright bad and all of it has Emmerich's style behind it. I mean, were we really supposed to find this movie touching and patriotic? The Foxx character is obviously "inspired" by Obama but if this was meant to be a tribute then they failed because it comes across as really embarrassing. Even worse are the bits of comedy, which includes some of the worst one-liners that you're ever going to hear. Even worse still are the awful action scenes with some of the worst looking CGI action effects that you're going to see this side of a SyFy production. Then, you have an incredibly awful subplot dealing with the cop's teenage daughter who is a complete brat but they try to make her out as some sort of patriotic hero. This entire bit of the story is just a complete embarrassment and it made me cringe as I watched it. I won't call out the actress but it was just a really bad position that the director put her in and it's almost as bad as Jaden Smith in AFTER EARTH. Let's pray that the two never team up. Both Tatum and Foxx are clearly just picking up paychecks and the great character actors like James Woods, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Allen Jenkins are just wasted in worthless roles. There are some moments here that are so incredibly bad that I couldn't help but laugh at them but sadly the film runs way too long to enjoy it as simply an awful movie with laughs.

Interestingly, in a space of just three months, 2013 saw the release of two films with the same premise: 'White House Down', and 'Olympus has Fallen'. Which one did you enjoy more?

I enjoyed both, for different reasons. 'Olympus has Fallen' was a more serious film, but it also had a much higher body count making it slightly more unrealistic. While dealing with a serious matter, 'White House Down' is unfortunately laden with annoying, unfunny humor which completely ruined any potential suspense.

My biggest issue with 'White House Down' was casting Jamie Foxx as President Sawyer. Foxx is so bad and unconvincing as the President, it quite frankly is the worst portrayal of a President I have ever seen. The script is also to blame, as the character doesn't act or reason the way a President would, with dialogue not suited for a high profile individual such as a President. He sounded immature and incompetent, at best.

There's plenty of action and firepower. The film is a bit cheesy at times, and a bit sentimental at times. Fortunately, it manages to remain interesting and always has some kind of hook to keep the viewer glued to the screen. The action sequences are very well done, fast-paced and thrilling. So, despite some issues, 'White House Down' is still an exciting movie.

Dumb, cliched, and like most every Roland Emmerich film, wildly entertaining. Emmerich seems to specialize in making medium-budgeted films with mid-level stars that are blatant rip-offs of more popular blockbusters, such as INDEPENDENCE DAY or THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW or even his first English language film MAKING CONTACT. With WHITE HOUSE DOWN, Emmerich decided to make DIE HARD meets AIR FORCE ONE, with Channing Tatum playing a DC Police officer who happens to be touring the White House with his daughter the same day it's taken over by terrorists and then finds himself protecting the president, Jamie Foxx. With a solid supporting cast that includes Maggie Gyllenhaal, James Woods, the always great Richard Jenkins, Michael Murphy, Lance Reddick, Matt Craven, Jake Weber, and a young Joey King as Tatum's daughter, which was funny seeing her as an actual school girl compared to her school girl assassin she played in BULLET TRAIN. Characters are so underdeveloped and cliched that pretty much any actor could have played any of the roles, the only exceptions being James Woods as the villainous turncoat secret service agent, which is made extra fun when you know Woods' real-life extremist views and that he may be spouting crazy rhetoric he actually believes. Joey King is also surprisingly memorable for a child performer as Tatum's daughter who hopes to be a YouTuber and when she secretly records the terrorists becomes a viral sensation. Jenkins maybe makes the list too, though he doesn't get any good scenes until the very end. This would be a movie that would be super easy to tear down, but it's so fun and unpretentious (they even put Tatum in a John McClain white t-shirt at one point, acknowledging the copycat elephant in the room.) Overall, the plot unfolds strictly by the numbers and there are zero surprises, but I was consistently entertained and never bored. Go into this film expecting solid action, likable actors, and nothing original, and you will likely find yourself entertained.

14 September 2013. White House Down starts with a lofty humanistic developing story that has substantive drama, but unlike its contemporary cousin Olympus Has Fallen (2013) becomes more a derivative of John McTiernan's action thriller Die Hard (1988). The result is an uneasy attempt at light humor along with a more darker plot that literally destroys a national American symbol. The plot elements in this deliberately twisting action thriller sometimes fails logic and later descends into a more chaotic and at times manipulative story.

Even with a rather ingenious double, double cross there is the over simplified demise of one of the more colorful villain, action scenes that seem to become more cluttered confusion and literally driving around in strange circles that defies believability. Even with the sincere and poignant if not manipulative scene with the daughter towards the climax of the movie, there are just too many moments where escape plans are abruptly and conveniently and contortedly altered.

While the beginning of the movie offered a polished and genuinely felt corridors of high power well folded as a solid backdrop to the humanity of the developing characters and an interesting liberal conspiracy theory embraced by the President himself, the tone of the movie becomes uneasy. Unlike Olympus Has Fallen which takes itself more thoughtfully seriously both the take over of the White House, the rebellious counter measures, and the consistent appealing emotive tone, White House Down just can't bring the same level of dry humor and entertainment as Die Hard.