White House Down Review

I'm nearing the end of all my summer movie reviews. I've arrived at the latest Roland Emmerich flick, White House Down. It boasts a formidable cast; Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jason Clarke, and Richard Jenkins all appear. But, is the film as good as the cast itself?

I wasn't a fan of this movie. Like all Emmerich movies, it has plenty of action and destruction that takes the place of what should be character development and plot. However, that in itself cannot be a complaint from me. I've always liked Independence Day. It may be the only Emmerich movie I enjoy, but it still contains a similar formula to his other films, White House Down included. I would have been thrilled by all the explosions and gunfire that was happening in and around the White House had I actually cared what the outcome was. And that is where my biggest problem with this film lies.

The charismatic performances put forth by Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx, and the chemistry the two are able to create was my favorite thing about this movie. They were entertaining to watch. However, that doesn't mean I cared about their characters. In reality, it was just the opposite. Thus, whenever a gun was pointed at their head, or they were getting shot at by a bazooka, I never felt any reason to care what happened to them. I felt an overwhelming sense of apathy towards the outcome of the plot. This can also be contributed to the fact that the plot was ridiculous.

White House Down takes a lot of inspiration from Die Hard. Who can blame it, though? It seems only natural to want to be like one of the greatest action movies ever. However, the Die Hard-like elements are poorly executed. I found many parts where it was obvious it wanted to be Die Hard so much, but never really had the competence to.

Because the plot was so absurd and I was indifferent about the characters, I could never be invested in what was going on. Therefore, the action felt dull at times. It wasn't flat or poorly executed per say, but, again, I just didn't care.

Conclusion

White House Down features appealing performances from Tatum and Foxx, but its unceasingly silly plot, overlong running time, and occasionally dull action sequences keep it from providing much entertainment. 

Rating: 5/10