Jamie Foxx and Channing Tatum star in “White House Down,” which hits theaters today.
This summer has already had its fair share of action-disaster films to please moviegoers, and director Roland Emmerich’s latest feature, “White House Down,” isn’t very different from the rest. WHD deals with almost the same subject, “Olympus Has Fallen,” tackled a few months ago, nevertheless it is an entertaining and enjoyable action ride. Wherever it lacks in storytelling, however, it certainly makes up for in its big CGI-infused action scenes, A-List talent and a surprising amount of comedy.
“White House Down” is the story of US Capitol Police officer John Cale (Channing Tatum), a war veteran trying to make him and his daughter proud by applying for a job in the Secret Service at the White House. Shortly after being denied a position, an explosion rings out, and the bullets start flying. Separated from his daughter, Cale tries desperately to find her, but instead meets up with the President of the United States, James Sawyer (Jamie Foxx) and must protect the President at all costs against the apparent terrorist threat to the nation. As they navigate the complex framework of the White House, Cale is pushed to his limits both physically and emotionally, culminated in a touching scene towards the end of the film.
Emmerich, whose previous films include “Independence Day” and “The Day After Tomorrow,” follows suit in his traditional use of CGI to capture incredible scenes of destruction and violence, at times pushing the boundaries of the acceptable levels of content suitable for a PG-13 rating. While some shots are awesome in their sheer immensity, many traditional special effect tricks are employed as well, creating quite a few ludicrous (and sometimes confusing) scenes of structural anarchy. It’s also a bit crazy how the entire White House security detail can go down within seconds, and yet despite the hundreds of thousands of bullets (yes, there are at least that many bullets shot throughout the movie’s plot) being shot at him, Cale never gets even a scratch from them.
In terms of the film’s cast, few actors in the film really stand out; most of the stars of the film serve the purposes for which they are needed to convey the emotions of their characters, none of which are considerably complicated or realistic. Cale’s semi-constant sarcasm and off-beat jokes seem out of place (and not particularly hilarious) once the attacks start, though in contrast President Sawyer’s characteristics really show when we see him tying his Air Jordans or fighting off a bad guy on his own, and indeed it is funny. The frequent use of humor throughout the film is at times a welcome mini-vacation from the terribly grave situations these characters are in.
Though this is billed as an action film, there is a significant amount of drama and peril, especially in regards to Cale’s daughter, Emily (Joey King). The emotional center of the film, Emily is also the wild card character of the movie, who carries out one of the most bravest acts of the film (regardless of how uncharacteristically she acts for an eleven year old). While there are many parts of the movie that don’t make sense, are highly predictable (there’s a bad guy behind the main bad guy!) or are just plain ridiculous, overall, “White House Down” serves as an appropriate action-disaster film (on par with Emmerich’s previous releases) to mark the peak of the summer movie season.
-Shaun Chaudhry
