Movie Review: White House Down

Starring: Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx & James Woods
Director: Roland Emmerich

In a few words...: Would-be Secret Service agent gets trapped in the White House when rebels sieze the building, and must work with the President to save the day.
 
Rating: 8/10

Beware: SPOILERS AHEAD

It's been a pretty rough year for the White House. First, it was Gerard Butler's Mike Banning saving 1600 Pennsylvania from North Korean terrorists hellbent on nuclear destruction in Olympus Has Fallen and now, a few months later, it falls to Capitol Police officer/Secret Service agent hopeful John Cale (Tatum), who is on a White House tour with his daughter after failing his interview to become a Secret Service agent, to save the day in White House Down, this time in the face of home-grown aggressors (including radical militants and white supremacists, no less!) led by Emil Stentz (Australia's own Jason Clarke). 

Borrowing plot devices from a bunch of films I really enjoy - Air Force One, The Rock, certain episodes of The West Wing - and modeled on the successful 'wrong place, wrong time' Die Hard premise, White House Down is a more light-hearted take on a hostage situation in the White House, and features none of the blood and guts that was stock in trade for Olympus Has Fallen. There's plenty to make you smile in this film, be it humorous one-liners or giant, if outrageously improbable, action sequences that leave you on the edge of your seat. There's even a nice nod to one of Emmerich's earlier films, Independence Day.

Headed by a rogue Secret Service (Woods) agent ostensibly acting out of grief associated with the death of his son, a Marine, on a covert mission ordered by President James Sawyer (Foxx) some months before, the American mercenaries at first indicate they are after money from the Federal Reserve, as well as the President himself, though as the film continues, it's clear that there is something more sinister at play, with hackers, the 25th Amendment and nuclear launch codes all in play. And even as the White House returns to friendly hands - partially destroyed, as you'd expect - the real shadowy villain of the film is still to be uncovered.

Switching between the terrorists, Cale and Sawyer, and the Pentagon, where command of the unfolding situation is being messily decided, partly by Secret Service Agent Carol Finnerty (Maggie Gyllenhaal), White House Down moves at a fast pace, whether it's shootouts in the West Wing or backroom political machinations. Cale's daughter, Emily plays a role in proceedings (with a nice nod to the ever-increasing presence of social media) and, somewhat predictably, ends up becoming a pawn in the final sequence of events. Of course, anyone who's seen a few 90's-style action films knew that one was coming a mile away. That's the thing: as much as you know - or, at least, have a fairly good idea - of what's going to happen, it's gripping stuff. It's also loud and colourful and tremendous fun. I thoroughly enjoyed it for what it was.

I liked the chemistry between Foxx and Tatum. Of course, Tatum is your typical chiseled action hero (right down to the Bruce Willis/Die Hard-style white singlet), but we all knew what we'd get, so it was the character of President Sawyer that was the real pleasant surprise. Foxx portrays the leader of the free world as being heroic, wise, smart and certainly not afraid to put himself in the line of fire. He has his fair share of good one-liners, and part of the fun is watching him try to keep up with Cale's increasingly spectacular combat feats. 

Sure, we've seen this film before - Under Siege, Die Hard, Olympus Has Fallen - but it's still fun. Critics savaged it, for whatever reason, like they seem to savage everything else, but if you're after an action thriller that, although somewhat predictable at times, manages to spring a few surprises, and has some interesting twists and spectacular action set pieces both in the White House and elsewhere, you can't go past White House Down for sheer popcorn entertainment.