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White House Down (2013)

thereviewers
Sep 30, 2015
2 min read

White House Down sees Capitol Policeman John Cale (Channing Tatum), who has just been denied his dream job of protecting the President of the United States, with the Secret Service, taking his politically astute daughter Emily on a tour of the White House. Shortly into their tour, a heavily armed paramilitary force overruns the White House. As the government descends into turmoil, Cale must fight overwhelming odds to save the President, his daughter and the country.

Overall Review Score

8.5 out of 10

Review

White House Down is a 2013 action drama with a political twist. The film is directed by Roland Emmerich and sees Channing Tatum play Capitol Police Officer John Cale who must protect President William Sawyer (Jamie Foxx) when the White House is overrun by terrorists. While the film attempts to appease the widest audience possible by including fierce gun battles, huge explosive action sequences, a computer hacking montage and sub-plot about a caring father trying to protect his daughter from evil, it never truly lives up to its potential. Yes, the film is enjoyable to watch and the cast – especially Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx – feed off each other and come up with some truly remarkable and memorable witty one liners but its feels just a bit to clunky in places and is filled with too many clichés. Watching the film, the audience will find themselves laughing and being drawn in by this highly entertaining film but once the credits roll they will quickly forget it, which is a great shame. Overall, White House Down is a film that attempts to rehash plotlines and clichés from other more successful action film and White House dystopian stories. It is a film that could have been better but ultimately it will remembered as enjoyable, comedic mediocre film.

Reviewer 1's score & comments:

Score: 9 out of 10

Comments:

White House Down is an incredible clichéd and cheesy film but will manage to keep audiences entertained with delightful acting, impressive action sequences, visual appealing special effects, an interesting plot and a whole bunch of witty one-liners. Further to this, the on screen chemistry between Jamie Foxx and Channing Tatum is second to none, as they both seem to effortlessly feed off each other, during their scenes, which helps build up a connection between them and the audience.

Reviewer 2's score & comments:

Score: 8 out of 10

Comments:

White House Down combines the exceptional acting talents of Jamie Foxx and Channing Tatum to create an action movie with a comedic undertone. While the film heavily references clichés and rips-off plots and character types from another well-known White House dystopian action film, its use of improvisational lines bring a unique organic feel to the film that keeps it fresh and entertaining for its entire run-time. While the film features some hard-hitting and heart-racing action scenes, it is the chemistry between the characters that really sets it apart from other movies. Although, with that said, there are a couple of issues with the film – mainly around the believability that only Channing Tatum’s character can save the President. Overall, a reasonably good film is worth watching. It will easily entertain the audience and make them laugh along the way.