White House Down

Director Roland Emmerich has always favored over-the-top action more so than sensible storylines, and for the most part, that has typically worked in his favor. The White House has been a prime target for terrorist takeovers this year. Olympus Has Fallen was only released a few months ago and now White House Down takes its own chances at the box office. Does Emmerich have another Independence Day on his hands or do the terrorists win?

John Cale (Channing Tatum) works as a U.S. Capitol police officer but one day hopes to be a White House Secret Service Agent. After pulling a few favors, he finally gets an interview with Carol Finnerty (Maggie Gyllenhaal), who just so happens to be an old college acquaintance. Killing two birds with one stone, he decides to take his politics loving daughter Emily (Joey King) along for the ride. Unfortunately for them, they picked the wrong day to tour the White House. When an ex-military group seizes control in a hostile takeover, John is the only man left standing capable of protecting the President of the United States (Jamie Foxx).

White House Down doesn’t take itself too seriously when it comes to the storyline. There’s just enough substance to keep the action moving along and a few predictable twists that come off as no surprise. Then again, when one of the scenes involves Jamie Foxx deciding to put on his Michael Jordan tennis shoes in the middle of trying to escape, you’re not watching it because of its thrilling plot. White House Down aims to entertain with in-your-face action sequences and lighthearted comedy between Tatum and Foxx.

Speaking of Tatum, the man knows how to draw a crowd. He’s a well versatile actor, capable of handling action hero status as well as having excellent comedic timing. White House Down is right up his alley. Even though terrorists have taken over the building and are threatening an all-out nuclear war, that doesn’t mean there isn’t time to crack a joke with the President. The terrorists themselves are even over exaggerated muscle heads (and your stereotypical computer hacker) who are all caricatures from the action movies of the 80s. It’s like Die Hard meets The Rock.

The blend of action and comedy make for one entertaining movie. It’s not the most sophisticated of films, because it doesn’t need to be. When you go to the theaters to see Channing Tatum, you want to see him blow stuff up or take his shirt of. White House Down is most of the former (sorry, ladies) and doesn’t shy away from the fact that action movies don’t always have to make complete sense. They just need to have a lot of action, and if possible a cool slow motion flag waving scene.

White House Down is pretty ridiculous, but it’s not a bad way to kill two hours. There are some genuinely funny moments and the action keeps pace for the entire movie. Just don’t go in expecting a movie masterpiece and I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.