Review of White House Down (2013) by Greatmartin — 04 Jul 2013

Car chase--check. Young hunky lead--check. Get his shirt off--check. High body count--check. 500 shots aimed at lead and not one hitting him--check. Movie about 10 minutes too long--check. Hero in a 10 minute fight getting bashed and recovers to over take villain without breathing hard--check. 10 men chasing hero and none catching him-- check. Planes exploding--check. Buildings getting blown up--check. Special effects-- check. Woman as a boss--check. A lot of violence--check. A few curse words--check. Countdown to the end of the world--check. Impossible, unbelievable situations happening--check. A thumping, heavy music background--check. What makes this movie different, better than the other 6 ‘action’ summer films? It has humor, an eleven year old girl and doesn’t take itself seriously..

Channing Tatum, as the hero John Cole, is ready and able, and probably has with just this one film, to take over for Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone, Tom Cruise and other movie heroes over 50. He has the body, the dancer moves and that impish charm which always helps to make you believe in him. In this movie he has the help of Jamie Foxx as the President of the United States and Joey King as John’s daughter Emily. At first she is annoying, like all 11 year old girls can be but as the film progresses she grows on you. It is always good seeing James Woods and Maggie Gyllenhaal never fails to give a star performance. Nicolas Wright as a White House tour guide is a standout in a role that makes a complete turn by the end of the movie.

The rest of the cast consists of reliable performers, that hold their own in each scene, such as Richard Jenkins, Lance Reddick, Jason Clark, Jimmi Simpson and Michael Murphey just to name a few.

The screenplays injects many humorous lines and lookout for the laugh out loud pocket watch scene. Director Roland Emmerich enjoys blowing up the White House, this is his second time, and lets the action carry the film while the cinematography by Anna Foerster will elicit, “How did they do that?” thoughts.

“White House Down” is a fun action film for a rainy and/or hot summer day and solidifies Channing Tatum role as a leading man. It should be doing a lot more business.