2013 has been the year of the “President in Danger” storyline: from “Olympus Has Fallen” to “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” to “Iron Man 3”. You have to feel bad for the real President, who can’t enjoy having the Commander in Chief being such a target, even if it is in the movies. Well, you can add “White House Down” to the list of films that likely won’t be on the marque at the 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. theater any time soon.
“WHD” takes place over one, long day. Channing Tatum stars as John Cale. He’s a D.C. policeman and war veteran who works as a bodyguard for the Secretary of State. Cale, who’s divorced, has an 11-year-old daughter named Emily (“Ramona and Beezus’ Joey King) who used to be obsessed with him but is now obsessed with politics and current president James Sawyer. God bless her. Cale is hoping to become a Secret Service agent so he can protect the President (played by Jamie Foxx). He’s got a job interview at the White House and Emily joins him.
On their way out they join a White House Tour. A short time later all hell breaks loose, including a huge explosion in the Capitol building. Those responsible want to capture the President. Cale and his daughter get separated and, through a series of events, he becomes President Sawyer’s sole bodyguard. So he must try to get the President to safety and rescue his little girl. There are plenty of armed bad guys, and several good guys also turn-out to be bad guys, so it won’t be easy.
The first half-hour of “White House Down” is all set-up. We get to know everyone’s backstories. Lots of talking and political mumbo-jumbo. For a while I was wondering if the theater was showing a feed of MSNBC by accident. I appreciate director Roland Emmerich taking the time for us to get to know all the characters who will face jeopardy throughout the rest of the film. However, he may have taken just a little too much time. But Emmerich makes up for it with the action scenes that fill the rest of “WHD”. He certainly knows how to stage destruction in an engaging and fun way. He even references his own 1996 blockbuster “Independence Day”, in which the president also got down and dirty, fighting-off an alien attack.
Tatum is playing a modern-day John McClane. In fact the comparisons between “WHD” and the early “Die Hard” films are obvious. Once you get past the obvious “Obama look-a-like” factor, Foxx becomes very likeable as President Sawyer. He and Tatum have some good moments together, but many of their scenes are hurt by the surprising number of attempts at humor. Emmerich’s decision to try to add laughs throughout this intense thriller is the film’s biggest problem. The mix of terrorism, murder, major explosions and goofy one-liners (and one goofy character) just doesn’t work. The supporting cast, including Maggie Ghyllenhaal, Jason Clarke (“Zero Dark Thirty”), Richard Jenkins and James Woods, is strong.
“White House Down” is rated PG-13 for some intense action/violence, language and peril. It’s appropriate for teens and up. The script is a little far-fetched, especially towards the end. But if you go with it, “WHD” is solid escapism.
On The Official LCJ Report Card, “White House Down” gets a B. By the way, chances are this won’t be playing on Air Force One either.