Roland Emmerich sure gets a kick out of destroying
Washington DC. He famously blew up the White House in Independence Day then wiped out the entire city with a massive
tsunami in 2012. Emmerich isn't done with
the nation's capital yet as he presents White
House Down, the year's second film depicting the President's home under
siege by terrorists.
Instead of Gerard Butler, we get Channing Tatum as John
Cale, DC police officer and former Iraq War vet working security detail for the
Speaker of the House (Richard Jenkins). He's a perennial underachiever and an
absentee father. Cashing in a favor from his boss, Cale gets an interview to
join the Secret Service and takes along his daughter, Emily (Joey King), hoping
the young political junkie will be impressed by a VIP tour of the White House.
Cale flops during the interview with Agent Carol Finnerty (Maggie Gyllenhaal),
but gets a chance to prove himself when a team of mercenaries and white
supremacists infiltrate the White House and capture President James Sawyer
(Jamie Foxx). The baddies are led by Emil Stenz (Jason Clarke), an ex-Special
Forces operative, with assistance from turncoat Martin Walker (James Woods).
While Olympus Has Fallen cribs far more from Die Hard,
White House Down borrows only a few
elements. Its protagonist not only has a similar name to John McClane, he
spends most of the movie running around in a dirty tank top. One of the villains
(Jimmi Simpson) listens to "Ode to Joy" as he hacks into NORAD. White House Down isn't as self-serious
as Olympus either as Emmerich recognizes
the inherent silliness of it all. This is a movie where even the nerdy tour
guide gets a kill a bad guy and everything comes down to a nuclear weapon and
an edge-of-your-seat countdown. Yes, White
House Down goes down some incredibly stupid roads, such as a car chase on
the south lawn or when the presidential limo just happens to have a rocket
launcher hidden in the back seat. Also, what genius decided to mount a covert
assault by sending attack choppers through the DC streets in plain sight of any
traffic camera or cell phone? Screenwriter James Vanderbilt (Zodiac, The Amazing Spider-Man) practically draws a bright, bold arrow each
time a plot element is introduced for a later payoff. Do you think President
Sawyer's pocket watch from Abraham Lincoln will be important later on?
Tatum is a welcome antidote to the grim-faced Butler. He
ably carries the film on his broad shoulders by playing the lovable lunkhead
we've come to know in 21 Jump Street
and Magic Mike. He's helped by the
fun chemistry he shares with Jamie Foxx as the idealized Obama, who ushers in
world peace, dismantles the military-industrial complex, and looks good in a
pair of stylish Air Jordans. Jason Clarke doesn't get much to do as the
ruthless Stenz though you can easily picture this being the eventual path of
his character from Zero Dark Thirty. James
Woods is at his slimy best though Emmerich wastes a stacked supporting cast
that includes Maggie Gyllenhaal, Richard Jenkins, Lance Reddick, and Michael
Murphy.
Drowning in effects-laden action and ham-fisted jingoism, White House Down is an unmistakable product
of Emmerich's brand of summer shlock.
Rating: ** (*****)
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