Another American action movie where the White House is taken over and the President is in danger. Where have I seen that before? In loads of things actually but most recently in Olympus Has Fallen. I feel a bit sorry for White House Down, it’s like when No Strings Attached and Friends with Benefits came out. Essentially the same film, even rumoured to have had the same name, one had Justin Timberlake, the other had a washed up Ashton Kutcher. To be honest though, between Channing Tatum with Jamie Foxx or Gerard Butler with Aaron Eckhart, the former pairing wins for me every time. White House Down has a very familiar concept – terrorists (cause initially unknown) invade the White House, take some people as hostages including John Cale’s (Tatum) daughter, which is his incentive for saving the President (Foxx). Not that he wouldn’t anyway, it’s just an extra push.
White House Down trailer
The action is fairly unrepentant, which is fine, there are some impressive scenes including a crashing helicopter and a bazooka toting limo careering around the lawn. Channing trots out a couple of cute one-liners but do I really want to see the ‘President of the USA’ kicking someone in the face telling them to take their hands of his Jordans (other trainer brands are available)? Not really. The mentality behind the film was essentially, if in doubt, blow it up or shoot it. Oh, and stick in a cute kid for the awwwwwww factor. You have to work a bit harder to win me over, I like a bit of subtlety or at least a hint of intelligence (and I don’t mean the FBI) in my actions films.
Foxx is a charismatic President, stopping to be interviewed by a 10 year old for her blog and having a wardrobe of trainers to rival Charlie Sloth’s. The trouble is, these scenes grate when they’re alongside patriotic, serious moments, the tone is all wrong and inconsistent. It’s mindless fodder, which is fine for some people but I’ve just had a bit too much of it.
2 Star
