Review of White House Down (2013) by Hoops2448 — 26 Aug 2013

Olympus has Fallen does something that White House Down never even thinks of doing, it tries to make sense of an impossible situation. While Olypmus has fallen is failing to persuade you that it isn't a generic thriller, White House Down is having fun and you are too.

When armed terrorists seize the White House, visitor John Cale (Channing Tatum) is forced to protect President Sawyer (Jamie Foxx) and try to rescue his daughter Emily (Joey King) from them. The film is big, unpretentious fun which emulates the original Die Hard, not just in story but in its tone.

White House Down is funny and has a cast clearly revelling in the experience. Tatum is a good Willis replacement and he shares great chemistry with Foxx who provides most of the films comedy. Directed by Roland Emmerich, the director of other big budget actioners such as 2012 and Independence Day, White House Down isn't subtle, its in your face and it never really slows down as everything is thrown at you at a break neck pace.

Filled with cliches aplenty this is big budget B movie film making at its best. Emmerich manages to twist formulas to keep things trundling along as well as display the action in a new and interesting way.

The films script by James Vanderbilt isn't terrible but there are more than a few dodgy lines hidden throughout the film. Clearly Emmerich is trying to display himself as a storyteller and while White House Down has a good story and is a gripping thriller it is a completely recycled tale that just follows an outline, an outline laid out by one of the best action films made making it entertaining action but nowhere near original.