White House Down

 

  

WHITE HOUSE DOWN  2.5        Capitol Policeman John Cale ( Channing Tatum) has just been denied his dream job with the Secret Service of protecting President James Sawyer (Jamie Foxx). Not wanting to let down his little girl with the news, he takes her on a tour of the White House just when the complex is overtaken by a heavily armed paramilitary group. Now, with the nation's government falling into chaos and time running out, it's up to Cale to save the President, Cale’s daughter, and the country.

 

This is not a movie to be taken seriously. In fact it is quite implausible if not improbable. It is though a good action thriller.  Yes, there are traitors discovered in our government from time to time. Yes, there are terrorists who would like to blow up more of our beloved landmarks. Yes, there are a lot of good law enforcement officers out there who think they'd make good top-level security agents. Yes, we have a black president. Yes, there are some pretty smart teenage girls out there. Yes, there have been some pretty dumb Generals in the United State military command structure. Exaggerate these concepts and you have a government coup orchestrated from within the White House, that enables terrorists to get in with explosives and take hostages. But then we have the one-man army of Channing Tatum there when the terrorists attack, and toward the end his daughter plays a pivotal role in warding off nuclear war by mere seconds on the clock. I'll say that again. If not for a teenage girl, this flick ends with nuclear war breaking out. This movie is no more realistic than but comparable to Die Hard flicks. And, in fact, this movie could be retitled “Die Hard in the White House”..  

 

It is inevitable that ‘White House Down” be compared to the earlier movie about the taking of the White Houser: “Olympus Has Fallen”.  Unfortunately, it compares poorly. There is nothing  fresh from 'White House Down'. It's predictable, overlong and over dramatized. 'Olympus Has Fallen' was more serious, brutal, tense and in almost every aspect better than 'White House Down'.  On primary duos of, Gerrard Butler-Aaron Eckhart in OHF have more charisma than Channing Tatum-Jamie Fox in WHD.  

 

This is a total escapist action film… so long as you don’t think too much. Logic gets in the way of enjoying this film, so cut it off along with your cell phone when the movie starts !!!

 

Clark