White House Down

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.

I recently watched White House Down (2013) on Hulu. The storyline follows a Capitol police officer who wishes to become part of the President's Secret Service. His history doesn't make it likely, and he takes his daughter on a tour of the White House as part of the interview process. Of course, the President is attacked during this tour, giving the officer a chance to prove his doubters wrong.

This film is directed by Roland Emmerich (Stargate) and stars Jamie Foxx (Ray), Channing Tatum (Magic Mike), Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Dark Knight), Jason Clarke (Terminator Genisys), Joey King (Slender Man), and James Woods (Casino).

The storyline is over the top and unbelievable, but you still want to see how it unfolds. The cast is impressive on paper, and everyone delivers the performance you'd expect. James Woods is always a solid villain and easy to root against. The dialogue is well-written with some clever remarks and fun zings. The action scenes are fun, over the top, and exactly what you'd expect-essentially a poor man's Die Hard. The entire film is fairly predictable, straightforward, and everything turns out as you'd expect.

In conclusion, White House Down is a mindless, unbelievable action movie that's only worth a watch if that's exactly what you're looking for. I would score this a 5/10 and only recommend it with the appropriate expectations.

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.

A bunch of terrorists attack and (way too easily) occupy the White House. Cale (Channing Tatum) is there with his 11 year old daughter Emily (Joey King). Through circumstances Cale saves President Sawyer (Jamie Foxx) from being killed and they try to figure a way to beat the terrorists and save the White House.

This starts out badly. The first half hour deals with character development. Nothing wrong with that--but it's so DULL! Then the action starts up and it picks up. There's plenty of violence--LOTS of shootings but no blood (hence the PG-13 rating). Still it isn't that good. The action is strong and violent but not enough to carry the movie. Also it's far too long and gets stupider as it goes along. Seriously--by the end I was getting insulted as how moronic the film was getting. Also Emily (an 11 year old) is slapped around, threatened and (more than once) has a gun held to her head! That's going too far. Even worse is Tatum's acting. He was blank-faced throughout. On the plus side the special effects were great, Foxx was good as the president, and Maggie Gyllenhaal and James Woods were great in supporting roles. So it was loud and violent but too long and too stupid.

White House Down offers very little that's new or interesting. It's a convoluted mess that's caught in no man's land. It takes itself far too seriously yet offers ridiculous action (ridiculous as in dumb, not as in wild or fun) and even more ridiculous characters. It wants to be taken seriously but functions in bizarre surroundings with a foolish plot. A calamity of underdeveloped ideas, half the film is flat out brain damaged and the other half is pure schlock. Do yourself a favor and avoid this dumb and actually boring farce.

This movie simply can't stand on its own as a film. Does often joyless, dark and dumb appeal to even the popcorn crowds? The rest of us want way more in our summer movies.