Certification. 12A
Director. Roland Emmerich
Cast. Jason Clarke, Jamie Foxx, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Channing Tatum, James Woods.
Rating. 47%
White House Down harks back to the 'right man in the wrong place' action thrillers of the 1980s and 1990s (the likes of Die Hard, Speed and The Rock). The studio's plan B's that often outperformed the favoured summer blockbuster. White House Down director Roland Emmerich is no stranger to the summer blockbuster behemoth, with a back catalogue that includes Independence Day, Godzilla and 2012.
Whilst Channing Tatum delivers as Capitol Police officer, John Cale, Jamie Foxx is woefully miscast as American President, James Sawyer. Crassly modelled on the former President, Barack Obama, Foxx's performance is perhaps one of the least convincing portrayals of the Commander-In-Chief in recent memory. His implausible POTUS is perhaps only outdone by the ineptitude and incompetence of the crack band of mercenaries led by Emil Stenz (Jason Clarke).
Released five months after Olympus Has Fallen, White House Down doesn't proclaim to be innovative or push boundaries, instead, the film aims to deliver good old-fashioned escapism by keeping the audience mindlessly entertained for a couple of hours. Initially, the action is on a relatively human scale, with Cale and President Sawyer forced to evade (and occasionally tackle) the mercenaries in the confines of the White House, but as the film continues, the set pieces become more audacious and more preposterous, including a ridiculous car chase on the South Lawn and the obligatory impending military air strike that threatens to level a few blocks but prevent a nuclear exchange.
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