White House Down - Movie Review: Sleek And Appealing
Reviews
oi-IANS
By Ians English
Four
months
ago,
we
had
an
Olympus
Has
Fallen.
Now
we
have
a
White
House
Down.
Both
the
films
are
a
copy
one-man-against
the
army
concept
shown
in
Die
Hard
series.
So
obviously,
the
question
arises,
which
one
is
better?
Though
predictable
in
its
storyline
and
with
nearly
the
same
flaws,
Olympus
Has
Fallen
was
a
decent
film
and
White
House
Down
is
no
less
a
great
film.
In
fact,
it
is
notches
higher
on
the
emotional
quotient.
It's
the
story
of
a
heroic
father-daughter
team
that
saves
the
American
president
and
the
White
House
from
doom.
The
plot
is
simple
and
straight
forward.
John
Cale
(Channing
Tatum),
an
Iraq
War
veteran
and
a
secret
service
wannabe,
is
trying
hard
to
be
a
good
dad
to
his
daughter
Emily
(Joey
King).
She
is
enamoured
with
the
US
politics
and
the
White
House.
So
when
he
is
invited
for
a
job
interview
to
work
as
a
Secret
Service
Agent
at
the
White
House,
he
takes
an
excited
Emily
along.
Unknown
to
his
daughter,
the
interview
does
not
go
well.
But
the
excited
Emily,
while
on
the
tour
in
the
White
house,
proudly
tells
the
President
James
Sawyer
(Jamie
Foxx)
that
her
father
will
be
appointed
as
the
Secret
Service
Agent
and
the
president
light-heartedly
chides
the
father
for
lying.
But
soon
after,
Emily
gets
separated
from
her
father
and
the
tour
group.
A
bomb
goes
off
and
the
White
House
is
attacked
by
a
heavily-armed
paramilitary
group.
The
president
is
taken
to
safety
and
John
has
to
prove
himself
by
saving
both
his
daughter
and
the
president
before
America
falls
into
total
chaos.
Continue
to
read
White
House
Down
movie
review
in
the
slideshow.
Action
In
WHD
There
is
total
action;
dodging
explosions,
Tatum
bashing
the
bad
guys,
escaping
thorough
elevator
shafts,
helicopters
crashing
and
an
engaging
car
chase
across
the
White
House
Lawn.
And
in
between
all
these,
there
are
witty
one-liners
that
off
sets
the
tension.
Performance
in
WHD
The
cast
works
brilliantly,
Joey
steals
your
heart
as
the
young,
bubbly
social
media
savvy
daughter
of
Cale,
charmingly
portrayed
by
Tatum.
Foxx,
though
a
brilliant
comic
actor,
is
a
misfit
as
president
James
Sawyer.
The
scenes
between
Tatum
and
Foxx
are
more
comical
than
serious,
but
nevertheless
he
is
shown
as
humane.
The
terrorists
headed
by
Jason
Clarke
as
Stenz,
who
is
directed
by
James
Woods
as
Walker,
the
president's
head
of
security
are
engaging.
Though
their
motivation
is
somewhat
murky,
the
madness
in
their
pursuit
grips
you.
WHD
-
Emmerich's
Usual
Fare
White
House
Down
is
moulded
in
a
template,
which
is
as
predictable
as
director
Emmerich's
usual
fare.
If
you
are
familiar
with
his
works
especially
Godzilla,
Independence
Daya
and
The
Day
After
Tomorrow,
you
will
notice
the
enthralling
setting,
the
glossy
output
with
the
easily
digestible
story
that
tapers
down
at
the
climax
and
no
strong
female
characters.
WHD
Verdict
With
a
production
budget
larger
than
Olympus
Has
Fallen
the
quality
is
quite
evident.
White
House
Down
is
far
more
sleek
and
appealing.
WHD
Cast
&
Crew
Producer:
Roland
Emmerich,
Bradley
J
Fischer,
Harald
Kloser,
James
Vanderbilt,
Larry
Franco
and
Laeta
Kalogridis
Director:
Roland
Emmerich
Cast:
Channing
Tatum,
Jamie
Foxx,
Maggie
Gyllenhaal,
Jason
Clarke,
James
Woods,
Richard
Jenkins,
Joey
King,
and
Nicolas
Wright
Music:
Harald
Kloser
and
Thomas
Wanker
Cinematography:
Anna
Foerster
Release
date:
July
19,
2013