Director Roland Emmerich steps up to the plate this summer with yet another action film - White House Down. The premise of the White House being taken over and blown up may sound familiar, as it was recently done in Olympus Has Fallen and Emmerich was the one who brought us Independence Day. However, White House Down brings just enough originality and awesome explosions to save it from being a horrible summer blockbuster.
White House Down follows the life of John Cale (Channing Tatum) as he takes his daughter Emily (Joey King) on a tour of the White House. John attempts to get a job on the Secret Service, but fails when his college acquaintance, Carol Finnerty (Maggie Gyllenhaal), refuses to give him the job. While on the tour, a group of paramilitary invaders set off explosions in the Capitol Building and begin to take over the White House, leaving the President (Jamie Foxx) in serious trouble. John and his daughter get separated during the takeover, leaving it up to John to rescue Emily as well as keep the President alive. John and President Sawyer team up, and together they have to save Emily and fight their way out of the White House. But can they do it in time?
This movie could have easily fallen victim to the bad summer blockbuster monster. But White House Down rises to the challenge and delivers a fun, enjoyable experience. You know what's happening is a disaster, and yet because it's not real, you can't help but enjoy seeing the White House be put to flame and blown up, piece by piece. What makes the film really interesting is the way they portray the press at the scene, and show people at home watching the tragedy unfold on their television sets. It adds a sense of realism to a rather far-out picture.
The script for this film is pretty linear and formulaic. But the movie uses the action formula pretty well. While it's predicable at most points, it still has enough surprises to keep you engaged in the story. The script also features a nice blend of serious tones as well as comedy. And the comedy is delivered perfectly by the two male leads, which takes us to the performances in this film.
Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx make a perfect action duo. They're funny at all the right times and simply mesh well together. They both deliver excellent performances and each have some great one-liners. The best, though, goes to Jamie Foxx, who gets ready for battle by putting on his favorite pair of Michael Jordan sneakers. Where else can one hear the President say, "Do NOT touch my Jordans!" as he kicks one of the bad guys in the face? Joey King does a fine job as the innocent girl risking her life in the White House and Maggie Gyllenhaal delivers another good action performance. That being said, all the actors in this movie do a decent job. Even the bad guys, like Emil Stenz and Skip Tyler, played by Jason Clarke and Jimmi Simpson, respectively, do a good job. They can be funny at times and Jason Clarke even gets a Bellatrix Lestrange moment, threatening to carve his name with a knife in Channing Tatum's chest.
White House Down is by no means a work of cinematic art. It can be cheesy at times and due to some choppy editing, it's hard to tell who is shooting who at certain points in the film. That being said, it's still everything you want in a summer blockbuster. It's got car chases, massive guns, fist fights, explosions, advanced technology, destruction, and more explosions. While the movie lies somewhere between a 3.5 and a 4, I'll be kind and bump it up, simply because of the sheer 'epicness' of some of the scenes. I definitely recommend seeing it in theaters before it leaves and at least renting it when it comes out on video.
RATING: 4 / 5
This movie is rated PG-13 (violence, some language, and intense action sequences)
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