White House Down (2013) Directed by Roland Emmerich. Starring: Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx, & Maggie Gyllenhaal. IMDB says: “While on a tour of the White House with his young daughter, a Capitol policeman springs into action to save his child and protect the president from a heavily armed group of paramilitary invaders.”
I get the complaint that White House Down (and a ton of other action movies) might seem like a rip off of Die Hard. It’s true, Channing Tatum does play a guy stuck in a building who has to save the people in that building. And his name is John (although maybe that’s in homage to McClane?). But besides that basic formula and a white wife beater, there’s so much else going on in WHD and it’s so damn entertaining that I don’t care about the similarities it holds to Die Hard.
John Kale is interviewing for the secret service and has brought along his politics-obsessed 11-year-old daughter Emily (Joey King) to enjoy a tour after. It just so happens to be the day that a group of domestic terrorists attack the White House for a plot that thickens along the way. President James Sawyer (Foxx) seems to be the target, and when Kale is able to separate from the White House tour group that has been taken hostage, he protects the President from the attack. Kale’s (not humorous) Al Powell is Secret Service agent Carol Finnerty (Gyllenhaal) who had already left the White House and tries to direct him the best she can while getting pressured by military leaders. The supporting cast for WHD is awesome: James Woods as head of Secret Service, Richard Jenkins as the Speaker of the House, Jason Clarke as the leader of the terrorist group, and Jimmi Simpson as a weirdo computer hacker. They all flesh out the film in welcome ways.
At the core of this action film is really a buddy comedy. Tatum and Foxx have awesome chemistry and they’re a great comedic team. Sure the main showcase of the film is action set piece after set piece involving explosions, missiles, car chases, rocket launchers, hand to hand combat, etc but what stands out is the humor. Any scene involving the two of them riffing is a highlight.
Where the film might falter is its running time and that that it doesn’t really pick up until a half hour in, despite the film having a decent pace once it gets started. There’s also a lot of political ideology involved that’s not the least bit subtle. The plot of the terrorists seems brought on by Sawyer’s efforts to remove troops from the Middle East, and the film doesn’t shy away from the concept despite its overall lack of sophistication to perhaps handle the subject. Some of the proceedings get a bit cliche at times, but there’s still so much fun to be had that I didn’t let it bother me too much.
You know who really didn’t care about any of those complaints though? The audience at my theater who obviously had a blast watching this. There was loud cheering and huge laughs throughout and everyone was buzzing as we walked out. That’s the recommendation I can make for this. It’s a bit of a rehash, but it’s got some real comedy, fun set pieces, and a great cast. A perfect summer popcorn movie.
