White House Down:
Roland Emmerich (director of such films as Independence Day, 10000 BC, Universal Soldier, The Patriot, Stargate, Anonymous, Godzilla, 2012, and The Day After Tomorrow) has had a mediocre career. His films range from brainless popcorn entertainment to absolute garbage. But one thing remains consistent: he really love destroying the White House. From blowing it up in Independence Day (funny enough, he references his own film in this newest one), to having Mother Nature destroy it in both The Day After Tomorrow and 2012, Emmerich really enjoys finding new and inventive ways to take out this historical building. In this latest effort, which seems very similar to an earlier film this year (Olympus Has Fallen), he has it taken over and destroyed by terrorists. Despite the basic plot of the film being similar, it actually is quite different than Olympus, and it not only has different characters, more action, and a longer running time, but is able to be more entertaining without as much blood, and without having to have the President play damsel in distress. The film focuses on John Cale, a US Capitol Police Officer, who, while on a tour of the White House with his estranged daughter, must use his skills to help the President out of the area and stop some mercenary thugs when a group of terrorists take over the White House. This gang consists of a pissed off ex-Delta Force mercenary, an expert hacker, a sociopathic right-winger gun nut, and a violent white supremacist. Cale and President James Sawyer must work together to save Cale's daughter, the hostages, stop the terrorists, and take back the White House. Now, this set-up may sound familiar, and that's because it is. Like many action films of the 90's, and a few from today, this film follow the "Die Hard on a 'blank'" formula. In this case it's "Die Hard in the White House", while they did change the plot elements and the overall story, the basic premise and character types are relatively the same. Both John McClane and John Cale are estranged from their wives (or in this case, ex-wife) and their kids (or in this case, one kid). It's quite similar. Now, while this film isn't nearly as good as Die Hard or any of the 90's copycats like Speed, The Rock, or Con Air, it certainly entertains and is better than most of Emmerich's recent work (or his filmography in general). It's a movie that doesn't ask you to think too much but just sit back and enjoy the mindless action and destruction. The cast are pretty good for an Emmerich movie. Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx are really likeable guys and really good actors, and they have really good chemistry on screen together, without them, this film would be a lot less bearable. The rest of the case includes Maggie Gyllenhaal (Secretary, The Dark Knight, Donnie Darko), Jason Clarke (Death Race, Public Enemies, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Lawless, Zero Dark Thirty, The Great Gatsby), Richard Jenkins (Six Feet Under, The Cabin in the Woods, Killing Them Softly, Jack Reacher), Joey King (Ghost Whisperer, Ramona and Beezus, The Dark Knight Rises, Crazy Stupid Love, Oz the Great and Powerful, The Conjuring), James Woods (Videodrome, Salvador, Nixon, Ghosts of Mississippi, Shark, Once Upon A Time in America, Hercules), comedian Nicholas Wright (The Portrait of Dorian Gray), Jimmi Simpson (Breakout Kings, CSI, My Name is Earl, 24, Psych, Rose Red, Seraphim Falls, Zodiac, Date Night, The Invention of Lying, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia), Kevin Rankin (Breaking Bad) and Michael Murphy (MASH, Shocker, Batman Returns, Manhattan, Salvador). Ben Mankiewicz (The Young Turks, At The Movies) makes a cameo as a news interviewee. Foxx and Tatum are the standouts, Tatum being the typical nice guy/action hero with family issues, and Foxx being like a cooler, bad-ass version of Barack Obama. Foxx in the film almost has a fascination with Abraham Lincoln. The action scenes are a bit over-the-top, but the CG isn't over-used, so most of the stunts are pretty authentic. The film has numerous gun fights, explosions, and a car chase/gunfight, as well as a helicopter crash sequences and two fist fights between Channing Tatum and Jason Clarke, one on the roof during a small shootout, and a longer one in an office or room of some sort (with sprinklers going off) near the ending. All the action scenes are thrilling and intense, despite some scenes being choppily edited. On another note: something I noticed that was kind of odd, for being a foreign director, Emmerich really likes to ego-stroke American at certain bits, not as much as in Olympus, but it was sometimes noticeable. White House Down is one of Emmerich's best movies (but that's not saying too much). It's a roller coaster ride of a movie, just for pure fun and nothing else, no deeper meaning, just a fun, adrenaline-fueled action-thriller, and that's just what I liked about it. White House Down keeps it simple but also really entertaining and it keeps your attention, something we don't see too many brainless action movies pull off now. 3.5/5 stars.
(Image: Wikipedia)
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