For a German guy, Roland Emmerich has demonstrated an unusual interest in American history, government and iconography. Or in blowin’ it all up, anyway. The director of Independence Day, Godzilla, The Patriot, The Day After Tomorrow and 2012 returns again to big-budget mayhem involving the destruction of national monuments with White House Down, one of those cheerfully implausible-yet-somehow-not-too-stupid pieces of entertainment that have come to define summertime moviegoing.
Beloved movie bro Channing Tatum stars as John Cale, an Afghanistan veteran now working as part of the speaker of the house’s security detail, with eyes on joining the Secret Service. He gets the opportunity to prove how valuable he’d be to the operation when the White House is seized by terrorists while he and his 11-year-old political-enthusiast daughter, Emily (Joey King), are on a tour. With the actual Secret Service incapacitated, it befalls John Cale to rescue the president—played, with his usual aplomb, by Jamie Foxx—from a team of villains with a variety of the usual motivations (money, revenge, etc.). The supporting cast full of familiar faces includes James Woods as the Secret Service chief, Maggie Gyllenhaal as a staffer with old ties to Cale, Richard Jenkins as the speaker of the house, and Michael Murphy (who played the presidential hopeful in the satiric Tanner ’88) as the vice president.
The premise is remarkably similar to that of Olympus Has Fallen from a mere three months ago, but White House Down improves upon it in every category. The other film’s bluntly graphic violence took a lot of the fun out of it; here, in PG-13 land, it’s pure escapism, with an energetic series of action sequences lightened by droll buddy-comedy dialogue, professional-level scenery-chewing by the baddies, and a Channing/Foxx chemistry that is basically a sequel waiting to happen.
WHITE HOUSE DOWN
Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx
Rated PG-13
Speaking of ,
-
Walk of Shame, The Lego Movie
New DVD/VOD Tuesday, June 17
- Jun 16, 2014
-
Drinking-Class Zero
Following a night of drinking, Wendy Simpson, 25, walked to a McDonald’s restaurant in West Yorkshire, England, where she was told that the counter was closed and only the drive-through was open but that she couldn’t be served
- Jun 16, 2014
-
How to Train Your Dragon 2
Dragon 2 shows DreamWorks is still willing to be daring
- Jun 13, 2014
- More »
More by Eric D. Snider
-
Diva Destruction
Like too many biopics, Judy provides a performance showcase and little more.
- Sep 25, 2019
-
His Song
Rocketman is not the film you think it is at all. Oh no, no, no.
- May 29, 2019
-
Movie Reviews: Hellboy, Little, Mary Magdalene, Missing Link
Plus 'Transit,' 'The Wind' & 'Diane'
- Apr 12, 2019
- More »
Latest in Film Reviews
Readers also liked…
-
Power Plays
Two satirical comedies explore manipulations and self-delusions by those with power.
- Aug 31, 2022
